Mohinder Amarnath, the former India selector, has said it was the BCCI president, N Srinivasan, who overruled the selectors' unanimous call for sacking of MS Dhoni as captain after the two whitewashes in England and Australia. "The Board President did not approve the unanimous decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Amarnath told CNN-IBN.

Post the Test debacle in Australia, Amarnath said, the selectors wanted to appoint a young captain for the triangular one-day series that followed, but their decision was overturned.

"We selected the team for the triangular series, selected 17 players but we did not select the captain," he said. "The captain was selected by somebody else."

Asked whether he questioned the decision, Amarnath said, "When you respect a person you don't ask questions. But my question is, you have a selection committee those who think what is best for Indian cricket then why they are not given a free hand.

The selectors thought about stepping down then, Amarnath said, but decided against it as they, "did not want to create a big stir there as the team was playing abroad and the series was going on there."

There was massive speculation that this was the reason Amarnath's term as a selector ended abruptly when he was actually expected to be the new chairman of the selectors. When asked about that, all Amarnath said was: "I don't miss it."

Amarnath was asked to clarify a rumour doing the rounds that he was cited the BCCI constitution that stated he could not sack Dhoni without the higher-ups clearing it. "Neither will I say yes nor will I deny it, okay," he responded. "I know the facts, and I will tell you the facts when I feel the time is right." He did go on to say, though, that he was not aware of the constitution. Clause 13(a)(iv) of the BCCI constitution states that: "The President shall approve the composition of a team, selected by the Selection Committee."

"When somebody becomes a selector, I don't think you are aware of the constitution of the BCCI," he said. "I was not aware. I don't think even the current committee is aware of the constitution."

According to the Indian Express, Amarnath, Narendra Hirwani and Raja Venkat, during a meeting in January this year for selecting the squad for the CB Series in Australia, wanted to sack Dhoni.

"Sanjay Jagdale, the BCCI secretary and convener of the national selection committee, consulted BCCI president N Srinivasan who shot down the proposal. Srinivasan made it clear that though the majority of the selectors felt that Dhoni didn't inspire confidence as Test skipper the time was not right to remove him," a selector told the paper.

Why does Amarnath think Dhoni doesn't deserve a place in the Test side? "If you see his track record for the last one year as captain, I am talking about Test matches, not one-day, he hasn't done anything," Amarnath said. "You give a run to a guy. I am not saying you should remove a guy overnight, but if you see a guy is failing again and again, I don't think it is going to be possible to continue with the same guy.

"I think he should be replaced in Test cricket. I am not talking shorter versions. He is an asset there, he has done very well, he is a match-winner, but with the technique he has I don't see him do any wonders in Test cricket.

"You have to look at contribution of the players, where you are playing and what opposition you are playing. We have to move ahead with times, and we have to look forward. People who have contributed to the game, we respect them, we adore them, but what is important is future of Indian cricket and not to live in the past. Cricket has changed, age has everything to do in life. We have to look ahead.

"I believe in fresh blood. I was looking forward for a guy like Virat Kohli to take over as captain in one day cricket. I think he is a fantastic player, he is the future."

When Amarnath spoke about moving forward, he was asked about Sachin Tendulkar and what his future should be. "Sachin has been a great cricketer, a great ambassador, he has achieved everything but I think they way he is playing we see a shadow of Sachin Tendulkar," he said. "And I don't accept him to play in the same fashion as he has done in the past. Age is a factor. He is not alone. Look at all greats. Once you cross mid-30s, things become little bit difficult, a little bit more demanding. He is no exception. He has to take it very seriously, and I think the selectors have to have a word with him, what are his plans. Then they should take a call and then decide."

First of all, tell all attitude of Amarnathji is not at all sportsmanly. The things which were discussed indoors should stay indoors. you shot on your own feet Mr Amarnath. Do not expect anything anymore from BCCI for you. I too agree with Srinivasan's and Srikanth's interest in CSK captain, but is there an appropriate alternative? Gambhir whose test spot itself is in question?

ganesh.c.s
on December 14, 2012, 11:06 GMT

Its high time they change the coach instead... Indians need a coach who would tire them in the nets for fitness... its ridiculous to have a laid back coach for the team which does not work out on their own.. we need a young coach with different thoughts... Its odd we keep blaming the players.

Al_Bundy1
on December 14, 2012, 3:21 GMT

Why didn't he try to get rid of Tendulkar - the biggest non-performer of India's debacle in England and Australia.

meajaz
on December 13, 2012, 22:38 GMT

I totally agree with karan, Srinivasan's action was not in the interest of the country but with his IPL franchise CSK, now the Srikanth's anger on Amarnath makes it more clear and supports my view, as he is the Manager of CSK, its purely a matter of "conflict of interest" - Srinivasan - BCCI president + IPL owner, Srikanth - Chief selector + CSK's Manager, Dhoni - Captain of India + CSK's captain......its very simple 2+2=4.

Amarnath is among those cricketers who played only for their Country, money is secondary for them, till today he has more away centuries than any other Indian batsmen, Amarnath, Kapil, Gavaskar, Sandip Patil, Srinath are few of the gems who always prefer their country than themselves.

nayonika
on December 13, 2012, 14:21 GMT

In India when cricket on the field is boring and depressing cricket off the field enlivens us and reinforces our enthusiasm and fervour for the game..Long live he tribes of Srinivasans and Amarnaths.!

Sab.Calicut
on December 13, 2012, 12:05 GMT

did you know who what post srinivasan held before bcci chief, he was the president of All India Chess federation. just remember the number of international tournaments and the stature of AICF in 2000-2004 under the then gen sec PT UmmerKoya.

Once srinivasan became the chief of AICF the organization is no where in the news.
same thing is going to happen to BCCI

southcity
on December 13, 2012, 11:39 GMT

Jimmy does not seem to remember that Srikanth was unceremoniously sacked from captaincy after the Pakistan tour where his average was around 40 and Azharudin was appointed in his place by Raj Singh Dungarpur as President of BCCI. No selection committee decided this. BCCI seems to have this authority. In the present case the alternatives suggested do not isnpire confidence-Viru, Gambhir or Virat.

on December 13, 2012, 10:32 GMT

Mohinder Amarnath had called the Selectors a bunch of jokers in 1989, when he and the then Indian Captain, Srikanth, was dropped from the Test side, after the Pakistan tour of 1989, which saw Sachin Tendulkar debut in Test Cricket.23 winters later, he is calling the Captain of the team unfit to play Test Cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar is still playing Test cricket. Does he justify his own comment now made in 1989, that Selectors are a bunch of jokers, because they themselves choose a captain who as per their own assesment, does not deserve a place in the team, and also decide the fate of a cricketer who alone had played more tests than all 5 members of any Selection Committee put together. It pays well in India to be in the news as so many news channels are there, but nobody thinks for the 11 players who fight it out on the ground, as that is a job, the news channel executives cannot go and do themselves

on December 13, 2012, 8:23 GMT

You don't know the constitution of the very board you report to? Well done Amarnath, at least you are honest enough to admit that you only cared about the money you made as a selector, without caring to actually read the very rules that govern the body that you directly report to. That is like a batsman walking out to the crease and saying "I didn't know I could be bowled out or caught, I didn't learn the rules of the game." The fact that people are even giving this has-been the time of the day is farcical.

on October 24, 2013, 11:29 GMT

this is not at all good for indian cricket

VAS4
on December 14, 2012, 19:17 GMT

First of all, tell all attitude of Amarnathji is not at all sportsmanly. The things which were discussed indoors should stay indoors. you shot on your own feet Mr Amarnath. Do not expect anything anymore from BCCI for you. I too agree with Srinivasan's and Srikanth's interest in CSK captain, but is there an appropriate alternative? Gambhir whose test spot itself is in question?

ganesh.c.s
on December 14, 2012, 11:06 GMT

Its high time they change the coach instead... Indians need a coach who would tire them in the nets for fitness... its ridiculous to have a laid back coach for the team which does not work out on their own.. we need a young coach with different thoughts... Its odd we keep blaming the players.

Al_Bundy1
on December 14, 2012, 3:21 GMT

Why didn't he try to get rid of Tendulkar - the biggest non-performer of India's debacle in England and Australia.

meajaz
on December 13, 2012, 22:38 GMT

I totally agree with karan, Srinivasan's action was not in the interest of the country but with his IPL franchise CSK, now the Srikanth's anger on Amarnath makes it more clear and supports my view, as he is the Manager of CSK, its purely a matter of "conflict of interest" - Srinivasan - BCCI president + IPL owner, Srikanth - Chief selector + CSK's Manager, Dhoni - Captain of India + CSK's captain......its very simple 2+2=4.

Amarnath is among those cricketers who played only for their Country, money is secondary for them, till today he has more away centuries than any other Indian batsmen, Amarnath, Kapil, Gavaskar, Sandip Patil, Srinath are few of the gems who always prefer their country than themselves.

nayonika
on December 13, 2012, 14:21 GMT

In India when cricket on the field is boring and depressing cricket off the field enlivens us and reinforces our enthusiasm and fervour for the game..Long live he tribes of Srinivasans and Amarnaths.!

Sab.Calicut
on December 13, 2012, 12:05 GMT

did you know who what post srinivasan held before bcci chief, he was the president of All India Chess federation. just remember the number of international tournaments and the stature of AICF in 2000-2004 under the then gen sec PT UmmerKoya.

Once srinivasan became the chief of AICF the organization is no where in the news.
same thing is going to happen to BCCI

southcity
on December 13, 2012, 11:39 GMT

Jimmy does not seem to remember that Srikanth was unceremoniously sacked from captaincy after the Pakistan tour where his average was around 40 and Azharudin was appointed in his place by Raj Singh Dungarpur as President of BCCI. No selection committee decided this. BCCI seems to have this authority. In the present case the alternatives suggested do not isnpire confidence-Viru, Gambhir or Virat.

on December 13, 2012, 10:32 GMT

Mohinder Amarnath had called the Selectors a bunch of jokers in 1989, when he and the then Indian Captain, Srikanth, was dropped from the Test side, after the Pakistan tour of 1989, which saw Sachin Tendulkar debut in Test Cricket.23 winters later, he is calling the Captain of the team unfit to play Test Cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar is still playing Test cricket. Does he justify his own comment now made in 1989, that Selectors are a bunch of jokers, because they themselves choose a captain who as per their own assesment, does not deserve a place in the team, and also decide the fate of a cricketer who alone had played more tests than all 5 members of any Selection Committee put together. It pays well in India to be in the news as so many news channels are there, but nobody thinks for the 11 players who fight it out on the ground, as that is a job, the news channel executives cannot go and do themselves

on December 13, 2012, 8:23 GMT

You don't know the constitution of the very board you report to? Well done Amarnath, at least you are honest enough to admit that you only cared about the money you made as a selector, without caring to actually read the very rules that govern the body that you directly report to. That is like a batsman walking out to the crease and saying "I didn't know I could be bowled out or caught, I didn't learn the rules of the game." The fact that people are even giving this has-been the time of the day is farcical.

@Chithirai sir with al due respect Karthik is far better keeper and a batsman(Test) then MR msd.... so giving chance to him will be better den Keeping Dhoni....

sahbas_s
on December 13, 2012, 4:06 GMT

@sakthivel..the laugh is on you my friend..he has answered ur question tat they didn't want to create a controversy as the team is playing abroad..had he spoken out tat time,our media would hav definitely added controversies n the players morale will be lost..Going by the performance is Aus after all innings lost, i think the team players knows this n didn't want to support dhoni..you cannot expect sachin to score very few runs in 8 test innings!!

joseyesu
on December 13, 2012, 3:47 GMT

Dhoni once had the record of of winning every match. Everybody knows dhoni does not have the best technique to survive in test match outside asia. This test match will decide dhoni's future.

cricmatters
on December 13, 2012, 3:45 GMT

It is a bombshell which could damage the morale of the team. If the allegations are true, then Mr. Srinivasan should resign as he would lose the trust and respect of many cricket lovers. However knowing how cricket administration in India works, everything would be swept under the carpet and there will be a vicious character assassination campaign launched against the whistle blower.

AvidCricFan
on December 13, 2012, 3:08 GMT

All BCCI Presidents are running their fiefdom. Dalmia, Pawar and now Srinivasan. They seem to be not accountable to any one. This type of attitude is damaging to the health of Indian cricket.

krishna_cricketfan
on December 13, 2012, 2:51 GMT

I do respect Mr Amarnath and even after his comments. But I do not agree with the timing of the statements. We are very down and about to play the last test. Is this the time to pull the team morale further down? Again by speaking now publicly will there be a change to captaincy? I believe Gambhir was to be made the captain. What is so special in him or for that matter Sehwag. Technique of Dhoni is being questioned. In my opinion Dhoni's mistake is he is not playing his natural game and so failing. This is a complete team failure. I cannot understand the logic of removing Dhoni from one day captaincy. Mr Amarnath, you could have done better either by speaking when things happened or wait till the series is over and then convey the truth.

on December 13, 2012, 1:46 GMT

He should be sacked from Test team but for ODI team , he is the best.

on December 13, 2012, 1:43 GMT

dhoni is one of the best fighting crickter ever india had he has won many matches in crunch situation the whole team is to be blamed it is after all a team game it is time for each of us to support him when team india is in crisis good luck dhoni and india

jimbond
on December 13, 2012, 1:17 GMT

This shows the political economy of the game. Lot of money rests on Dhoni and part of it is lost if he loses his captaincy. Srinivasan also has money locked in IPL, and while he may have taken a unilateral decision about Dhoni, the selectors (including Amarnath) did not speak out- which was really a smart thing to do. Till a few months ago, Dhoni was close to God and anyone questioning him would be laughed at. So, Amarnath has also smartly waited and spoken out at the opportune time. While it may not be right to discuss about internal processes of the selection in open, if the processes themselves have been murky- there is no harm in bringing out a few details. While Amarnath often borders on the irresponsible, people like him are needed in Indian cricket. It is time Srinivasan and his cronies were moved out of the portals of power. I hope some day, some players occupy the high posts- someone like Kumble or Dravid. But certainly not someone like Shastri.

caught_knott_bowled_old
on December 13, 2012, 1:07 GMT

The team is clearly going through a transition period - so before sacking Dhoni, consider the current situation.
Bowling: Kumble and Bhajji took 1000 wickets between them and they're gone. Zaheer who took about 300 wickets is also way past his prime and highly injury-prone. So, the bowling department is severely depleted. One can't expect to find another Kumble in just a year. It'll take time, and the selectors will have to try various players. Mishra, Chawla, R. Sharma have all been below-average bowlers. Ashwin, Ojha are barely average bowlers. Definitely not match winners.
Batting: Ganguly, VVS and Dravid and SRT cannot be replaced overnight. Its going to take a few years. Kohli is struggling against quality bowling. Pujara needs to be consistent. Selectors have tried Rohit Sharma, Raina, Yuvraj, have all been unsuccessful.
Its a wonder that Dhoni even wants to be captain. Who'd want to lead such a weak team.

Polkadey-mudalali
on December 13, 2012, 0:10 GMT

If India is to competitive, BCCI has to take some strong decisions. If not test cricket in India will die. Before IPL, India had a formidable test composition and they performed well in ODIs too. When money was pumped at a ridiculously high rate through IPL, player refused to give their 100% to TEST Cricket as it is less lucrative than IPL (by at leat 100 times). If test cricket dies so will IPL coz it is the long format of the game that produces the great player.

on December 12, 2012, 23:47 GMT

BCCI is an umbrella body. They have to see and plan for far bigger things. If Indian masses have NOT realized yet, BCCI has no interest in 5 day TESTS. BCCI wants to STOP 5 dat TESTS atleast for Indian Team and focus solely on ODI and T20 games. If one looks objectively, it is NOT a bad idea. Everyone has accepted that India can not produce fast bowlers who can bowl 20 overs a day in TESTs, because the bodies are not suitable. Everyone knows that youngsters are not interested in TESTS because after doing so much work it pays peanuts cmpared to IPL and T20 games. All our new better batsmen are geared up for ODI and T20. Will you slog for 5 days 450 overs if you get $x vs 40 overs played in a day for 100x? Life is limited. Young guns wants to use it to make most like in any other field. Pride for country has to be associated with T20 games now instead of TESTS. BCCI knows this, they are gearing up for this scenario. Dhoni is important for ODI and T20 so they don't want to displease MS

Natraja
on December 12, 2012, 23:23 GMT

An honest former selector should have spoken at the time of incidence and not when Dhoni is down. Mohinder has lost all respect and he is just a grumpy disgruntled coward to have decided to hit Dhoni when chips are down.

drvns
on December 12, 2012, 23:07 GMT

First of All, Mohindar Amarnath should be asked to explain why he has choosen this inoppotune time which definitely goes against Indian Cricket at this critical juncture. It appears that he is the playing a key role on behalf of some lobbyists who want to see India defeated. The second question I have is why Mohindar Amarnath could not gather courage to resign if and when Srinivasan intervened. Also why other selectors chose to keep quiet if Srinivasan's intervention was not a routine matter. Dhoni's record is much better than that of Mohindar Amarnath and Dhoni is standing only for his quality-not even from his States, Jharkhand or Uttarakhand. The later is perhaps trying to bring in politics on behalf of his failing Delhi gang

on December 12, 2012, 22:53 GMT

Irrony of indan cricket, when indian cricket is facing hard times"log appna roti sek rahe hai, abhi moka hai, abhi moka hai media me channe ka "India media plz stop these Nuisances , we lost, but thats part of game, india will sure bounce back , irrespective of who ever is the captain, reality is that at present india will rise only when shadow of last era of golden years in test history will fade out completely. Sooner the better. we do wants records but first we want india to win ,

karan8300
on December 12, 2012, 20:28 GMT

Who will CHAIR after Srinivasan? That's the million dollar question. Only One man in Indian Cricket History who can be the President with an IPL Team. Look his Team Captain MSD is the Captain of Indian Test Squad and MSD supports always goes to Raina. I will not wonder if You can see 11 CSK player playing for Indian National Squad. Its important for IPL to STOP this type of dual system for the sake of Indian Cricket.

Partyman
on December 12, 2012, 20:18 GMT

Completely devoid of logic. Regardless of whether the top guy refused to remove Dhoni as Captain or not, his whole reasoning does not have any logic. If he acknowledging now that Dhoni is an asset in limited overs Cricket and he does not mind him continuing as Captain of the limited overs team, why did he or his mates in the Committee wanted to removed him from the job for the Triangular series in Australia? He is chasing his own tail. Lost his plot. Btw, India is not struggling because of bad captaincy. They are losing the plot because of the poor quality of the players at their disposal and even more poor attitude of those players.

vithur1507
on December 12, 2012, 20:09 GMT

It is good to see that Mr.Mohinder Amarnath being concerned about putting the Indian team back to the no.1 status, he sure is one of the few brave men who probably came out to criticize even Tendulkar, but the timing of his statement should be questioned. In a country of people of Tendulkars who criticize every Indian player as they have 200 tests after their names, he should know how much pressure these players would be facing. We should appreciate the fact that the team is trying to stick together and win it for the people. Ironically their efforts aren't appreciated by their own people, some of them who can't go walking early morning question the fitness of these players.

vipravara
on December 12, 2012, 18:47 GMT

For all those who wonder/question why Dhoni should go out of test cricket, his and his team-mates 'mouths' became bigger than their 'performances/scores'. So, much for their well talked 'revenge series' in home conditions against England quite early. If Dhoni cannot square the series now, Nagpur test could be his last as test captain at least- a cricket lover from India.

Sakthiivel
on December 12, 2012, 18:41 GMT

why didnt he come out with this news when he was in the selection panel. Mohinder Amarnath is another joke.

bul98
on December 12, 2012, 18:14 GMT

India and BCCI is only interested in IPL. Rest of the cricket does not matter to them any nmore as you tell from players body language. They have no fire, no emotions and no interest. SRT is just palying for records and looking at MS Dhoni is like you looking someone standing at the bus stop waiting for his Bus. Good luck to Indian cricket!

on December 12, 2012, 18:03 GMT

@ Krrazee4Cric, I agree with your comments... I'm not supporting Dhoni here... He has to be sacked as Test captain for sure... But I don't remember a Indian WK who is equivalent to Dhoni in Batting... Lets give opportunity to Saha/Karthik...

howzzatt_out
on December 12, 2012, 17:55 GMT

Dhoni tried to build a team but his picks like 'Raina', 'Jadeja' etc could shine only on occasions.Never consistent.That perhaps is ok in shorter format of the game but for true cricket aka test matches, you need a true cricketer. Someone who knows the value of sessions, value of straight drive, value of leaving deliveries and tiring bowlers down. Unfortunately, neither Dhoney nor his 'picks' have these. So 'India' if you want to save your grace in 'test matches' please start now. Dhoni deserves the harsh ouster, something which he himself has given to many players, even senior players during his sunny days.

crindex
on December 12, 2012, 17:53 GMT

I believe Srinivasan better than Amarnath . Why didnt Amarnath come out with this 'news' at that time instead of now - when India is going into a critical fourth test match against England. His loyalties are in wrong place.

mcs81
on December 12, 2012, 17:48 GMT

And Mr. Amarnath, what have you been doing all these days. If you are so concerned about the Indian team, you should have resigned on that day and come out in public.

cric_fan123
on December 12, 2012, 17:47 GMT

For all the guys who keep chiming in "If not Dhoni, then who?" forget when Dhoni became captain he too dint deserve to be in Test side, he still became the captain and lead India. That said, I'll take my chances with Kohli any day. Yes, he has not performed this series but give him the long (or longest) rope as people did with Dhoni.

frozeninusa
on December 12, 2012, 17:42 GMT

Here we go again. Time for another captain bashing. This is how we treat our stars. Isn;t this time to focus on cricket and save this test series? Why are you talking now Mr Amarnath? And you say that the selectors always want what is best for Indian cricket. Are you kidding? Have you heard of the zone politics in Indian selection? You say that Dhoni is an asset in the limited format. But it is in the one day format you wanted to replace him with Kohli.

Can anyone see what is the main reason for the failure in this series? It is the failure of our top and middle order batting. Bowling has never been our strength. Even in Indian conditions, we usually win by grinding it out after the batsmen have put on a good score. We can't play Monty and Swann even in our own conditions with all the experience in our line-up. That should be the main topic of discussion.

The politics in Indian sports is a real shame. As it stands, India stays suspended by IOC. When are we going to learn?

InsideHedge
on December 12, 2012, 17:40 GMT

Amarnath, a man I respect as a former player, has gone over the top. There goes his chances of ever securing a coaching position within BCCI, he shouldn't complain about conspiracies in the future. There's a method in making a case of complaint, just shooting off in the press is the wrong way to go about it.

on December 12, 2012, 17:30 GMT

At one place he is saying that Dhoni is an asset in limited overs cricket. Another place he says they selected 17 for the triangular ODI series and wanted to remove Dhoni as Captain for ODIs. He sounds as confused as the rest of them involved in Indian Cricket at the moment. Virat Kohli as captain? one of the two guys who has the worst approach and attitude should be made captain. Only Sunil Gavaskar has came out and talked sense, the rest of them are just being typically dramatic. Mr. Gavaskar has talked about attitude and approach; which are the exact two things that needs to be discussed. Dhoni's form is struggling but there is no clear replacement for him as Captain. Kohli should have been dropped from the test squad. And Ghambir is living in a world of denial.

Mohammad_Imran
on December 12, 2012, 17:29 GMT

I'm Pakistani but Dhoni doesn't deserve the blame for India's poor showing... he has taken the team to heights no other Indian captain did (T20 championship, World Cup, #1 Test ranking, etc)... His record alone would qualify him to be called the best Indian captain ever! India will not win test matches until they produce wicket taking bowlers.. India will always do well in ODI & T20 'cause batsmen win you those games, but Test are won by your bowlers as you need to take 20 wickets in 5 days! India is currently having difficulty taking 10 wickets let alone 20!

Nampally
on December 12, 2012, 17:24 GMT

Does BCCI Clause 13 (a) IV, actually allows the BCCI president to over rule the decision of the Selection committee?This is shocking eye opener!. This BCCI President is a company CEO with Zero Cricket background or knowledge. This clause gives him Dictatorial position in Democratic India. Even the President of India cannot overrule the PM. First & foremost this clause should be scrapped. Until such stage the Indian Cricket will be in jeopardy & will send India into tailspin to #8 in the Test Ranking. Amarnath has been a great whistle Blower - a chip of the old Lala, who was equally blunt & down to earth. I only wish he had done it in a timely manner. We, the Indian fans, are totally in sync. with Amarnath's views & presenting them thru' our protests re: poor team selection. India at this time can form at least 2 Test Class teams better than the present one. Sad reflection on the present Selection committee for their slavish mentality in neither protesting nor resigning en-mass!

Dodith
on December 12, 2012, 17:23 GMT

Amarnath is calling for the replacement of a NON PERFORMING, STUBBORN captain. After the initial hysteria of winning the world T20, becoming the #1 Test team, WC 2011 winner and some other memorable wins, I have come to see the true Dhoni- passive, lacks passion for the game, he looks super tired, exhausted and jaded! He needed a break a long time ago, but never got it. He needs to be relieved from the burden of captaining and performing in all 3 formats. Drop him from the Test team and make use of him as a player and a limited over specialist until he shows the intent and desire to play Test cricket. We cannot go on this way and keep sinking. Sad to see, he lacks the passion and fight like Ganguly. Ganguly would have never lost 8 in a row. Ganguly also BUILT and team. Dhoni doesn't seem interested in any of that as captain! He doesn't discipline rowdy players and doesn't seem to want to stamp his authority. We need someone who is stern and serious about leading from the front!

rket
on December 12, 2012, 17:00 GMT

If BCCI handles everything, why we need selectors?

Mr. BCCI president, you already own IPL team and heading BCCI. Why not you also be the chief selector? When IPL was born, Indian cricket was dead. No second thoughts about it. Nobody has interest to play cricket for country. Zaheer khan dives at boundary line in IPL, but he jags for the same ball in test match.

on December 12, 2012, 16:45 GMT

What is Democracy ?
there is a need to keep politics away from cricket, there is a need for change. I am an Indian and i am proud of that, but imagine a state of a nation where selecting a 11 player who can play and perform in cricket is the biggest debacle since the time unknown

Krrazee4Cric
on December 12, 2012, 16:33 GMT

I agree with Amarnath that board should not interfere in selection matters. Period.

However, it is funny that on one hand he agrees Dhoni as a Test captain/player is bad but good as ODI captain/player. But then he wanted to sack Dhoni as a ODI captain/player after dismal test series??? That's contradictory. With all Dhoni's short comings as Test player, you can not take away the fact that he is a very good ODI player. And on Aussie pitches, right in the middle of the tour, he wanted to sack the captain and player as well and bring someone in and expect to deliver? That's crazy. Btw, check Dhoni's scores in that ODI series. He performed much better than most other batsman.

Dhoni as Test captain/player is not great but what's the alternative? Sehwag? Gambhir? Both are in horrible form. Kohli? You would agree its too early still. The fact is he is the captain because there is no alternative, yet.

Why Dhoni is getting such hype ? he has done nothing as a captain. Instead Dravid has acheived more than him by wining series abroad whic no captain has acheived still he has been dubbed

on December 12, 2012, 16:13 GMT

I don't think somebody from selection team dare to sack Sachin out of the team. Because Sachin is a very sensitive issue for every Indian. So he himself has to realise and take the decesion. He always played good for country, hopefully he continue the same attitude. It can be in 2 ways , perform well or quit himself. Later is more likely to be. This is what greats to do, like what Ponting did recently. Comes to Dhoni in tests, he is a good Captain but he is under pressure (even it is not reflecting on face) because of the friction between team mates, but he has to overcome this as a good leader.I agree with Bharath Maddineni that he sat on the base built by Sourav, but he lead the team to heights. Now its a down time and he too has 2 options, perform well and guide team to winning track or give way to new captain and contribute team with bat and gloves. If he can prove the recovery in next match against England, I think he deserve to get another chance to him (next series).

Onewin
on December 12, 2012, 16:09 GMT

You can't take black and white positions, all the (not unjustified) indignation notwithstanding. There can't be any question that it is deeply uncomfortable to think that the Board chief stopped the sacking of a man who is the star player of an IPL team he owns (I am not sure where else in the world such blatant conflict of interest will be tolerated). At the same time, it is intriguing that Jimmy, honest, outspoken, upright man, accepted the humiliation and stayed on in his post and has chosen to speak out only now. And, let's face it: who will you replace Dhoni with? Sehwag, who for all his brilliance is so moody and unpredictable and cavalier and irresponsible in the gravest of situations? Gambhir, whose form is patchy, and who will in no time run into powerful cliques in the dressing room who will have neither respect nor loyalty for him? Or Virat, who for all his potential, is really still raw and needs to be eased into the job slowly, T20 first. Tough scene, boss.

pradeepsays
on December 12, 2012, 16:07 GMT

Mr. Amarnath---It is very sad that a cricketer of your repute and stature should make these comments in the middle of an important series. Your comments are absolutely valid but should have been upon conclusion of the test series. We all respect the comebacks you made and the fearless manner in which you faced up to all the fearsome fast bowlers of your time. However, there is a time for comments on non-field issues. This is not it. You should focus on advising onfield strategy and giving inputs to our current batsmen on how to play the Nagpur Test well.

Alexk400
on December 12, 2012, 16:01 GMT

Dhoni has to go. 10-0 will be 11-0 end of nagpur test. Dhoni is the reason for loss not players. He fail to lead or inspire with his drumbeat.

on December 12, 2012, 15:31 GMT

USP is India was beaten comprehensively in Australia (4-0) two of them were innings defeat two of them with more than 100 run margin; three of them finished in three days....

In England Indai was beaten comprehensively England (4-0) with two innings defeat, two high margins and two of them finished in four days.

Still you persist with the same captain there should be some issue with the system. either it could be politics or corruption or both

OzWally
on December 12, 2012, 15:09 GMT

Also, Amarnath contradicts himself. He wanted Dhoni replaced after the Aus test series for the ODI CB series in Aus. Yet later says he thinks Dhoni is the best option to be ODI captain??? Then later again he liked to see Kholi as leader in the shorter formats? No wonder the President overorde this thinking. Yes, replace Dhoni as Test Captain, but not make the announcement while you are in Aus in between test and ODI series. That would have made no sense.

on December 12, 2012, 14:57 GMT

I totally back Jimmy. People like NS sitting at the helm of affairs is a real comedy. What qualification as a cricketer he has to run the show. I really doubt his priority as head of BCCI, his agenda might be different and making fools out of the cricket players, fans and media. Jimmy has never been a hypocrite as far as the history goes. Dhoni as a test cricketer can survive only in Indian team for sure. Lets India invite BD, ZIM and Kenya for a back to back series and give some joy to the fans.

OzWally
on December 12, 2012, 14:56 GMT

This article proves more of an indictment against Amarnath than Dhoni and explains why he is no longer a selector. A selection panel can have honest debate but once a decision is made should all be (publically) behind the decision. His comments do nothing but demean Dhoni and create mistrust and doubt within the team. Mr. Amarnath just because you didn't get your way with regards to the Captain, shut up and be a team player.

ShortGully
on December 12, 2012, 14:55 GMT

Can anybody tell me whether Amarnath was in the selection committee when Dhoni was elected as Captain or in SA tour...? We all know how he bats in Test even before he was captain..! where were these guys when India didn't lose a single Test series under Dhoni..! Is Dhoni is the only player not performing well..? As a captain How can he inspire SRT, dravid, Laxman if they didn't performed well ? You need to support your team when it is going through a rough patch..! Give him Good Bowlers.. and Fielders and then tell he is not doing well.! how can any captain win a match with this kind of bowling we have and Some of the Legends of the Game not performing Well..?

on December 12, 2012, 14:52 GMT

Dhoni is not a test player no skill just blind hitter.If required we must change the constitution of BCCI so that the president should be curbed.if the nation doesn"t trust in the selection committee why make one.Dhoni surviving because he is the captain of CSK and srinivasan own that.
we must flourish the new talent.people like sachin lives in their past and blind folded are the selecters.can't say how many young talent buds has died since sachin become liability for team.It seems he has grafted money in place of skin. GOOD LUCK TO SUPPORTERS.
MOHINDER AMARNATH HAS DONE VERY GOOD BY REVEALING THE TRUTH AND HELPLESSNESS OF SELECTORS.HOW MONEY DOMINATE THE SKILL IN SIDE THE BOARD.

on December 12, 2012, 14:47 GMT

amarnath saying this things bcoz he was sacked by bcci...that the main problem for him...gambhir..wht he does,,giving catch practice to slip ...sack gambhir now,rahane ,vijay waiting,,,last test centure for him in 2010 january,,amrnath sir pls check the stas before quoting this typ of things...this useless words can only harm indian cricket...

Leg-Breaker
on December 12, 2012, 14:47 GMT

Let me give you guys one clear and recent example.

4th day of Eng vs. India at Calcutta

First over of the day bowled by Ojha who got Swann. The next over Zaheer gets Prior and we are into the tail. Why does Ashwin get the next over? Clearly, Ojha having taken four wickets in the innings cd have been persisted so that he could get a five-for? No - Ashwin, Dhoni's CSK mate needs easy fodder for his wickets column.

Horrible behaviour.

With this kind of unabashed greed by Srinivasan @ the helm and recent state of the politics, this is not the proudest moment for chennai-ites.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunate that people like Mohinder cannot have power.

vipravara
on December 12, 2012, 14:45 GMT

It explains Dhoni's desperation to win this series, asking for rank turners even before the series began to prove that he can win tests in India at least. However, much to his horror, England came back strongly at his team after losing 1st test. I think if Dhoni cannot square the series in Nagpur, he will resign as test captain at least (whether it will be accepted or not is a different drama/story).

SamRoy
on December 12, 2012, 14:41 GMT

Dhoni should not captain India in test matches. He has been a terrible test captain. But more importantly now that his keeping standards which used to be pretty good have fallen to levels lower than even Parthiv Patel it is time to say good bye to Dhoni from test team. Saha / Karthik can do the job. If Karthik's form with the gloves is good I would prefer him as he is far more talented batsman than Saha.

ProdigyA
on December 12, 2012, 14:32 GMT

Dhoni should have been sacked immidiely after the England series and defintely after the Aus series. 8-0 is not a joke. Being a top tier nation and recently ranked No. 1 you couldnt even manage a single draw. Thats shameful to say the least. Its almost as if Dhoni has taughts us feel that white washes are ok and not a big deal. He is least interested and lacks motivation. GG should be the captain for Tests, Dhoni for ODI's and Virat for T20's.

on December 12, 2012, 14:30 GMT

We need to very firmly implement a policy of "perform or perish". If Steve & Mark Waugh, as well as Ricky Ponting can be asked to leave by CA, when frankly their performances were nowhere close to being as pathetic as our guys (Steve Waugh in his last test saved the match and the series for the Australians), there is a lesson to be learnt for the BCCI. Indians believe in creating Gods out of those who dont really deserve to be deified. One is only as good as the last performance, not one's career stats! Any other team with a run as abysmal as India's with 2 series whitewashes, would have surely been through a major revamp! We should live in the present with an eye on the future, not live on continues reruns of 1983 (or 2011) WCC victories!!

on December 12, 2012, 14:30 GMT

Dhoni simply fails to inspire his co-players, his own performance in Tests is so bad that even only as a wk-batsman, he can hardly be selected even for INDIA-A Team.
Hats off to Mohinder for his for-sightness, Dhoni should be sacked from Tests as well as from T20's....

FOR TESTS....SEHWAG should be the leader while one of Uday Kaul/W Saha should play as WK...

FOR T20's....VIRAT KOHLI should be given the responsibility wlong with blooding of Young Players, Dinesh Karthik/Robin Uthappa should play as WK.

Nish_US
on December 12, 2012, 14:29 GMT

Can someone fire the president of BCCI?

How can you own an IPL franchise and be the president of BCCI at the same time?

And retain your IPL team captain to remain as INDIA captain, even after the selection committee UNANIMOUSLY sacked him

Nish_US
on December 12, 2012, 14:25 GMT

Who would you believe - Amarnath or Srinivasan?

Cricinfo - please create a poll.

ragsfan
on December 12, 2012, 14:16 GMT

Regardless of the rights and wrongs as to whether Dhoni should be captain or not, this is poor timing on behalf of the selector. India face a must-win test and then he goes public with this. One wonders what his motive is - it seems self-serving, 'India wouldn't be 2-1 down if they'd listened to me' kind of thing. Of course, as an England supporter I'm worried about the effect it might have on the likes of Dhoni and Tendulkar after these comments as it might have some galvanising effect that spurs them on to great things in this match. But even so, the man should have either spoke up at the time or kept quiet until this match was out of the way.

on December 12, 2012, 14:05 GMT

Dhoni enjoyed the team built by Sourav, but know they are leaving and getting older no doubt he is struggling..

on December 12, 2012, 14:02 GMT

Dhoni is India's best bet. He has captained and performed admirably possibly second only to Ponting, even that is debatable. He is the only one in that team with any degree of character. The problem with India, Too much cricket, not enough bowling talent, not enough commitment and professionalism and too much money.

Dhoni or Prakash, India will never be a good time without a change in approach to cricket.

on December 12, 2012, 14:00 GMT

Yes Mr. Amarnath, Sack Dhoni and place Kohli in his stead. And see what's going to happen to the guy's form(not that he contributed anything important in the current series). I hate Srinivasan but, man, he has got some sense unlike the selectors. I used to think Gambhir was a good alternative, but by seeing the way he comes up with excuses for his own criticisms, I say he is no good for test captaincy either.

correctcall
on December 12, 2012, 13:59 GMT

@jose puliampatta - they haven't chosen WHERE top play Australia YET let a lone who will be in the team !

on December 12, 2012, 13:57 GMT

Biggest problem with Indian cricket is that people in power place their interest before cricket. If Amarnath and selectors are so concerned then Rohit sharma would have been dropped a long time ago. He is still there after series of ducks when Manoj Tiwary sat out after scoring a century and when he was again given chance after months he again performed. Blaming Dhoni for all the defeats when neither the batsman and bowlers perform. How can a team win a test when whole team scores 250 in an innings in which around 100 are scored by lower order and bowlers and then bowlers let opposite team's batsmans score double century. Even Steve Waugh or Ponting could have won a test with this Indian team. There is no better keeper in India than Dhoni even if you disregard his batting powers. They have tried others before. He is certainly not Sachin or Ponting not to mention he comes when all left on the other end of pitch are bowlers and so called greats of team have departed for 100 runs.

Kingda123
on December 12, 2012, 13:38 GMT

Now a days it become fashion to say sack Dhoni, look at his batting records (Wicket keeper), Home Avg: 42.00 & Away Avg: 33.48, can any one list which India wicket keeper have these kind of track records in test matches. K consider Jimmy, as a specilist batsman his Avg is 42.00 only in test matches. No Ex wicket keeper r old bullies have righties to give bad comments on Dhoni.....As far as individual he is doing good job......

on December 12, 2012, 13:36 GMT

I have no expertise to comment on Dhoni's replacement but I agree 100% with Jimmy's stand on Sachin's retirement. I love Sachin and I want to see him leave with some grace and not dragged and pushed and pulled until one day he finally falls dead. Also, there should be more stress on grooming and encouraging younger players than be bragging about players who have already retired or close to retirement.

on December 12, 2012, 13:14 GMT

Still No men been elected in team selection committee,all these come out just to divert over shade speachs about Sachin to be thrown out, i wonder why Sachin not considered for sacking who been non performing even from decades before England Series, what i personally belive is why Dhoni alone to be considered for sacking, let BCCI bring in selection process like, 1.Players who dosen't perform for more then a couple of series must automatically be removed from team(how ever be whether Sachin / Dhoni / Shewag /Gamir) and they will only be selected only if they perform well in domestic level,2. Rotating players, or wages must not be paid to players if they dosen't perform for more then a couple of series and palyers must travel in their own expenses for the playing venue till they perfrom wel atleast for a series, and most important Player grade to be reduced

sreekalyan82
on December 12, 2012, 13:06 GMT

Mr. AMARNATH! after reading the whole article, am rather confused!
U said Mr.SRINIVASAN "blocked" sacking DHONI. Ok
but u were sacking him from the ODI side, right??
And u urself say he is a match winner in ODIs !
I dont understand ur intention in bringing out this topic at this crucial time.
Yes DHONI has not been good in tests SACK HIM FROM TEST SIDE
but why did u propose to sach him from ODI?
I appreciate Mr.SRINIVASAN in this respect

on December 12, 2012, 12:55 GMT

It will be shocking, if the new selectors retain Dhoni & Sachin in the team for the domestic test series a against Australia. Dropping guys like Zak, Bhajji, & Yuvi is easy stuff, since they lack powerful godfathers. Selectors' courage and solid cricketing judgement will show up in choosing the team against Australia. Let us all wait and watch, to see whether Sandip Patil retains even a wee bit of his boldness of yore.

TRAM
on December 12, 2012, 12:53 GMT

The next captain should be: 1. in good enough "current form" to be in the playing XI, and working hard. 2. Level headed , unemotional, sensible, 3. be a good team guy, be good friend with others and motivator 4. have good knowledge / psychology of batting, bowling and fielding 5. good communication skills with other players as well as media. 6. confident but NOT arrogant. Of the available players in this 15, only Ashwin fits close, though not the perfect fit (only due to his slow out-fielding). Outside of this 15 member squad, I dont see many with experience. Not to think I support Chennai players, but DKarthik and Badri are the top with above captaincy criteria. (Honestly I rate LBalaji as even better captain based on his courageous 4th innings chases in Ranji matches last year, but he drops out of 15 due to his current skill level). All these 3 are experienced international level, have captained their state & zones and have seen their ups and downs in their careers.

correctcall
on December 12, 2012, 12:51 GMT

@bluefunk - Srinivasan's blatant conflict of interest extends further between what is good for CSK and what is good cricket in general (ICC) Getting rid of SRT and Dhoni will remove the major impediment to universal adoption of DRS and bring back international cricket to an even playing field. It should not allow a repeat the ludicrous scenario of the BCCI being yet to announce the tour schedule for the Aus tour of India which is less than 3 months away (presumably because Dhoni cannot decide on what type of pitches to order !) This total disrespect for Test cricket by Srinivasan and Dhoni needs to be taken up by Richardson and Isaacs at the ICC by professionally building a consensus of the willing to confront such blatant Indian hegemony with a threat of the use of no objection certificates for international IPL players. Without overseas players the IPL is worthless. Srini will only respond to raw power and the ICC needs to deploy it judiciously now when he is vulnerable.

on December 12, 2012, 12:50 GMT

I am surprised that nobody is saying that the Chairman of BCCI, who is NOT a cricketer, and yet interfering in purely cricketing matters like selection should step down. He is a highly respected businessman down south, and he can retain that respect only if he washes of his sins, if any, in cricketing matters. Interfering in selections is not the only issue. Having a conflict of interest by being an official of the BCCI & owner of an IPL team, since the bidding for the franchise, till date. Bending rules, to favour a few -- like owners of a couple of other franchises. Allowing the chief selector to be the ambassador of his private team... so on ... and so forth.

on December 12, 2012, 12:49 GMT

@Dave Kelly: Dhoni is definitely not fit to be accorded the status that Sachin Tendulkar holds, simply because he is not even one-third of what Sachin is temperamentally & technically in Test cricket. I personally feel, that Dhoni has lost interest in Test Cricket, and the time has come for the selectors to tell Dhoni, "Look Dhoni, you've not been getting the results we have expected of you over your last 4 years as captain of the Test team. It's time we give someone else like Gambhir a run for atleast 2-3 years, till Virat Kohli has scored lots of runs in Tests, and is mature enough to handle the Test captaincy on his own. And now you bloody well concentrate on your batting and wicket-keeping to keep your place in the Test side for atleast another 2 years, otherwise your Test career is over." But I don't know whether our selectors have the courage to do that really, given that our current BCCI President is a real tyrant, and is least bothered about the future of Indian cricket!! :)

on December 12, 2012, 12:49 GMT

When you wan't a replacement just name the the replacement first .. :)

TRAM
on December 12, 2012, 12:40 GMT

Jimmy Amarnath !!!! The Man of the Match in 1983 world cup. Its 2012 now and and he has shown he is the only MAN in the whole BCCI. Well done sir. Please keep exposing every one. We the people of India, deserve to know what is going on.

on December 12, 2012, 12:40 GMT

Such remarks by Mohinder do not help anyone. Such matters should be kept within the confines of the selction committee and the BCCI. Now you have upset Dhoni and the selection committee has lost its credibility. Not good for future cricketers.
BCCI and selection committee have same lot to chose the team from. The issue is that the lot does not have cricketers of test capacity. So it does not matter who makes the decision or what they say. The problem is deeper and no one is trying to understand it. If your test players do not know how to stand in the slips, they have no reason to be selected for standing there.

tanxi
on December 12, 2012, 12:40 GMT

Dhoni has been a phenomenal player, especially in the shorter format. People don't give him the credit he deserves in the test arena. He averages 37. Lower down the order he can be a devastating batsmen. However, I don't feel he is too blame when he walks out to bat and India are 5 wickets down for around 150-250. This has been the case over past couple of years.

Now India have lost Dravid. Any team goes into a blip when a top player leaves. One player India will miss is Laxman. (In Indian Conditions). He was very reliable, elegant player in the middle order. It doesn't end there. The bowlers, Kumble left, Bhaji lost it, Khan is ageing. India never really found a replacements. It will take time, but the quality is out there somewhere.

on December 12, 2012, 12:40 GMT

Mohinder Singh you are great !! At least you have d guts to reveal d fact. True to your wording your not among the bunch you don't belong to the bunch. Hats off for your stubborn personality. Salute Sir!!

on December 12, 2012, 12:36 GMT

Dhoni never had the skills of test player in the first place. He himself knows this well.
When Kumble stepped down test skipper, Sehwag should have been made the captain.Sehwag is an asset in test cricket.

on December 12, 2012, 12:35 GMT

The Srinivasan/Dhoni CSK axis lies at the root of India's alarming slide into the Test wilderness. Srinivasan, though, is far more to blame than Dhoni, as he's the puppetmaster. Which other cricketing nation would appoint a chairman whose only cricket-related qualification for the job resides in the fact that he owns a cement company which happens to sponsor a popular T20 team? Apart from single-handedly sabotaging the BCCI's own Test team by blatantly interfering with team selection, Srinivasan has also succeeded in making India a source of ridicule & intense dislike throughout the cricketing world via his Stone Age stand on DRS, his open backing for doctored pitches, his attempts to sabotage opposing teams by instructing the warm-up sides they play against not to include any spinners & his feeble attempts to blackmail the international media. It's not Dhoni or SRT who is the *real* elephant in the room of Indian cricket; it's Srinivasan.

Matinhashmi
on December 12, 2012, 12:33 GMT

Dhoni should not blamed alone, every body is the responsible for the test defeat, batsman, bowler both. When he won the world cup everybody said Dhoni is the historical Captain, Dhoni intelligent etc. Now what happened.
In my opinion, nothing wrong with his captaincy, some senior players couldnot deliver their full performance. If India change captain, they would not find the man like him.
As a Pakistani fan of Dhoni,he is the greatest captain ever India has produced and if they loose him, they can not find the man like Dhoni.

mvashwinn
on December 12, 2012, 12:31 GMT

Pl don't pass on whatever you like. I have never seen such a performing captain like MSD. Just because the team is not performing u cannot blame the captaincy or his skills, his record speaks for it
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
72 114 13 3784 148 37.46 5 27 201 31
My dear amarnath show any of your keeping colleagues having this stats. This is a transition period things bound to happen like this It has happened for Aussies too. Rather than discouraging kindly give some advice to the team to level the series. Dear friends this team is really good give some time to perform this team will come out with flying colours all the best MSD

on December 12, 2012, 12:31 GMT

@bluefunk ur comments are so ludicrous that even laughing then off would be giving them too much respect and it also shows your too little knowledge of the game.Kaif has a test and odi batting average well below dhoni or for that matter even an average player,plus he has not been in the list of top 10 ranji scorers for the last 5 years even once.Same goes for unmukt chand who has a list a average of mere 29 and hasnt set the ranji circuit on fire either.And as for jadeja,unlike the other two mentioned above jadeja has done what nobody has ever done in india not even sachin,sourav or anyone.He is currently the highest scorer this season and has picked 24 wickets at an average of 20,So if he wouldnt av been picked after this performance and somebody like a kaif or chand are picked then surely the govt should interfere.And as for parthiv patel,he has a test average of 29 in about 20 tests and which is lower than dhoni's avg in last 1 year during which he has not even. been at his best

on December 12, 2012, 12:30 GMT

Those who things there is no alternative to Dhoni, just remember how Dhoni came in to the seen. If you gave a chance to the players, then only they can prove anything. Gambhir , Sehwag, Kohli ....all of them can be considered. After all , the credit of past wins are not due to the captain. If the team is not performing well, any captain will be useless.

on December 12, 2012, 12:26 GMT

Yes dropping Sachin is wise, that way we have no seniors in the team and no one with experience or guide the team during tough opponents. Sachin should stay until India is at level it was at 3 years ago.

on December 12, 2012, 12:26 GMT

when ever india win any series/cup they say that the team performed well... when they loose they target only captain.... do you think sachin, sehwaug, gambir, zaheer etc played well... how much sachin scored in 2012... look at his performance... can you sack sachin as a selection comitte member or can you suggest selection committe to sack sachin or any other players who are not performing well.... why you always target dhoni ... tell me whom you think better captain than dhoni ....

mautan
on December 12, 2012, 12:26 GMT

The CAT is finally out of the bag. Well done Jimmy..you guys served the country with distiction and need not be worried about the powerful people who run the show. You have all the support of millions of your fans. Cricket reflects what India has now become in all the fields..sad, but till we have atleast a few Amarnaths, Kejriwals, we have hope.

vish57
on December 12, 2012, 12:24 GMT

Let us admire the courage of Amarnath; he has done good to Indian criciket through this exposure. Only place where all politicians are united is at BCCI. The conflict of interest case on BCCI president owning CSK , the judgement from SC is eternally getting postponed, definitely till he relinquishes the office, auction was alleged to have been fixed to take Flintoff in CSK.......... goes on.. People in power/position will never accept their wrong doing becasue they believe they can't do any wrong...........yet Bravo Amarnath.......... we salute you.

on December 12, 2012, 12:19 GMT

Well there is no doubt that Jimmy Amarnath is a straighforward man. However it would have been nice if he had taken a stand at that time and quit the selection committee instead of bowing down to the preassure of N Srinivasan.In the end he was uncermoniously sacked by the BCCI stating that he did not have the support of the DDCA, his parent association. I guess there is a conflict of interest because Sriniavasan is the owner of Chennai Super Kings and Dhoni its captain. Earlier Srikanth the Chairman of the Selection Committee was also actively involved with Chennai Super Kings.

bumsonseats
on December 12, 2012, 12:18 GMT

some say replaced by who. anyones better the dhoni. just a thought ST could just be the one. low scores is not issue with a captain so that would keep him playing for another 2 years. he then earns his place.

Boodah
on December 12, 2012, 12:17 GMT

nonsense
dhoni is a senior player, a match winner. his job is not to anchor the innings, the top 5 batsmen should do that - dhoni coming in at 400/5 is what should be happening, not 83/5. india's problem has always been the lack of quality openers, and the reliance on the 'big guns' to score - like dravid, tendulkar, laxman.the winning teams at the moment, SA, Aus, even england have good openers, and a batting unit that can score quickly against top bowlers. sehwag is a great player - but he has a 1 in 5 brilliant innings, or he is out early. when he gets in he scores fast - this is great, but i'd play him at 5, dhoni at 6, and put a specialist opener with a solid defensive technique. you want pujara, tendulkar, sehwag, kohli to come in against the old ball and murder it. then, sehwags experience from opening will help him deal with the 2nd new ball.

dhoni is an astute captain - a big match player, and he is a good keeper - since boucher's injury, i rate dhoni and wouldnt drop him

on December 12, 2012, 12:14 GMT

I am 72 years and watching cricket for the past 60 years. In test cricket we have never been dominant. And never been consistent. That is. Indian trade mark. There is nothing wrong with Captain Dhoni.it is wrong with all eleven players. So don't blame anybody. Accept and be happy.

rajpengu
on December 12, 2012, 12:13 GMT

@Dave Kelly - Srinivasan is President of BCCI and he is also the owner of Chennai Super Kings IPL team. Do you think he will remove Dhoni from captainship. That is the reason players from CSK IPL team get a long run.
Conflict of interest. If Srinivasan is sacked everything will become alright.

on December 12, 2012, 12:12 GMT

I wish people read the reports correctly. Jithin Choyi is questioning why former selectors didn't drop Dhoni themselves. He should probably read the starting lines of the report and the title of the report again. It is very clearly mentioned that
"it was the BCCI president, N Srinivasan, who overruled the selectors' unanimous call for sacking of MS Dhoni as captain after the two whitewashes in England and Australia. "The Board President did not approve the unanimous decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Amarnath told CNN-IBN."
Its high time this nexus was eliminated and the sports bodies were freed from political interference.

shiv_mishra
on December 12, 2012, 12:12 GMT

A captain should face axe for performance of the team. So should selectors if players selected do not perform. Every single player failed against England and Australia and again England now. So what about some acountability on your side Mr. Amarnath? After all is not selectors job very lucrative now a days.

I know you have lost your job, but would you say sorry for selection mistakes in the same breath when you are lambasting captain of Indian Team.

And your view that Gautam Gambhir should be made captain and Harbhajan should be back in team makes me think, are you playing some dirty zonal politics?

bumsonseats
on December 12, 2012, 12:10 GMT

the BCCI dont want the DRS so its not in use. the BCCI chairman/selection committee leader vetoed a guy whos team lost 4 - 0 to england and even the aussies beat them by the same score. its unbelievable he still captain. it could only happen in indias present setup. its only 15/20 years ago they would be burning effigies of him.talk about money ruling the head.

chin-music
on December 12, 2012, 12:08 GMT

This is just shows what a bizarre collection of spineless yes-men the whole BCCI admin is filled with & why Indian cricket has no hope with such people at the helm. Mohinder is by no means a saint here - if he had any courage of his convictions , he should have resigned then. Speaking now when the chickens have altready come to roost is too little too late - & hardly qualifies for the bravery award that many seem to be bestowing on him. Yet , the other selectors etc are such craven cowards - that by comparison , even Amarnath's very lmited honesty makes him look like a shining star. Really , shows our pathetic standards of honesty & integrity.

Vasi-Koosi
on December 12, 2012, 12:04 GMT

I like Mahi, he might be as great as SRT definitely. However, he is special. He won the T20 WC, he took India to #1 ranking, he won us the World Cup which we all thought was lost after the way SL batted.
For a country like India, to get this far is a dream come true. All, this said we also need to say that he has limitations. He has been fine as a wicket-keeper, as a batsman he has had his patches.
All this said, if the selection team had decided that Mahi should go. He should have been replaced. Srinivasan had no right to block this. This reeks of conflict of interest, that "Brand Mahi" will be eroded and consequently his team Chennai Superkings might also go down the drain.
BCCI changed its constitution that the selectors need to have certain qualifications. If the wise men with those qualifications have decided on something, how can an administrative head veto that.
Srinivasan should be shown the door and so should Mahi!!!

cricket-is-passion
on December 12, 2012, 12:03 GMT

Politics are everywhere, when Bhajji lead Mumbai to CLT champians, every said he could be the next test captain but he was axed from all formats shortly. During his comeback in Tests, he wasn't used properly so not sure if politrics played there also. Any ways, Dhoni lead India to No1 in Tests, every player in the team played well. So he didn't have do much and also his batting was overlooked since India was winning and ofcourse his bowling changes used to be good but nowadays he is mostly relying on front line bowlers and not utilizing any part times. When opponents get going, better to try part timers to allow batsman to go after them to make mistakes. Any ways there is no good leader right now other than Dhoni and Kohli himself didn't play well so only Gauti or Viru could be the options and Viru himself dropped out of DDL captaincy so I wud say Gauti but he is also not playing well. Tough decision to make for anybody...Good luck guys...

on December 12, 2012, 12:01 GMT

The way Kohli stood up in the last Australian tour ages when all around him was a bit of a disaster I'd see him as a future captain. Why not give him a run now. He definitely seems a mature cricketer with incredible talent.

on December 12, 2012, 11:57 GMT

Dhoni is clearly missing Dravid and Laxman in the team. Soon Sachin will be leaving. So India can't rely on greats like Dravid, Sachin, Laxman etc. Dhoni's been great at the start but if someone loses 10 out of 11 tests he shouldnt be the captain of the team whether its Imran Khan, Steve Wough or even Bradman.
But its no other team, its India. I dont think its gonna be that easy for BCCI to remove Dhoni as captain coz of fans and scarcity of new options. So I hope Dhoni's team comes back in the last match and salvage some pride. Ive never liked Dhoni as a batsman but he's been exceptional as captain before that tour of Eng last year.

on December 12, 2012, 11:56 GMT

why was he quiet then? he should have resigned immediately if he thought something wasnt right.... a stand up and principled man would have done that... not come out when everything is done and dusted and the decision is perceived to have a negative impact on the team.... to a two bit rumour-mongering channel, at that... BS really... i dont remember the last time I was this pissed about a cricketing article... and MSD is not even my fav cricketer... god help Indian cricket

on December 12, 2012, 11:52 GMT

@ Jithin Choyi - As per what Amarnath says, selectors don't have all the power. They are restricted by a higher authority.

on December 12, 2012, 11:51 GMT

I am all the way with Amarnath who I have always admired for his forthrightness, honesty, fearlessness and integrity, and above all for his exemplary courage for speaking with his heart and calling a spade a spade. Indian cricket and most other sports are akin to politics replete with sycophants and chamchas honed in the art of sucking up to their superiors. Bravo, Amarnath, for having done your bit to clean up Indian cricket. I hope this will wake up the others.

on December 12, 2012, 11:50 GMT

wow, but was it really any surprise? BCCI has become so big that if pretty operates to serve the top dogs! Absolutely why is has there never been a great media stink about this, Indian cricket will never prosper without a complete overhaul

on December 12, 2012, 11:40 GMT

@Dave Kelly: leaving aside the past one year's test performance, Dhoni has had a midas touch on the Indian Cricket team. He brought in lot of intensity and the will to win, utilized the team's full potential, showed great responsibility and lead from the front on many occasions, backed his team well enough to ensure that short setbacks didn't affect their psyche and performance, and thought out of the box to do unexpected things to gain the control back when things were going out of control. As a result of all this, he has delivered fantastic results, especially in the 50 overs format( Out of 127 matches captained, 73won, 43 lost 12 NR/tied, Won the CB Series in Australia 2008, when the Australian team was great (Gilchrist, Hayden, Symonds were all there, Lee was bowling great and Ponting was the captain doing well). Other significant result was the WC 2011 win. Add to this the great success in IPL and champions league and you have the answer.

on December 12, 2012, 11:40 GMT

Every rising sun should set; it will be at its best for some time and will fade away into darkness. This is applicable to everyone and also to our cricketing legend SRT and also our most successful captain MSD. We could say MSD was lucky 2 win T20 World Cup, but later he was handed over a team which was sharpened and fined tuned by Dada, MSD enjoyed its fruits for while, then with coming out of IPL, egos started working around players and importance players used to give for national cap was reduced! MSD's luck started declining and eventually he has brought the team to lower standard than he started! Like Dada said no one was groomed as captain in India and some became fit when they were tried. I believe that Indian team is in a transition period now and it's the best time for new captain. Times of Dada, Kumble, Dravid and VVS have ended and times of Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag, Zaheer, Gambhir and Harbajan are coming to an end and now new Indian cricketing legends will be fall from sky..

on December 12, 2012, 11:40 GMT

Im a Pakistani. I think Dhoni is not doing great in Tests as a captain and batsman and I think some changes should be brought in to rebuild the test team. Look what M Clarke and Cook have done for their respective countries as new captains.
Dhoni is still great in ODIs and probably in T20s as well. He should be replaced by someone as test captain but the problem is nobody's there to be considered as genuine leader, a dilemma faced by Pak Cricket many times. To me most logical choice would be Gambhir.

givemefood
on December 12, 2012, 11:36 GMT

Such controversies around MSD and his captaincy. Yet no one stands up to drop dead weights Sehwag and Sachin.

HumungousFungus
on December 12, 2012, 11:34 GMT

This nicely illustrates one of the fundamental issues that Indian cricket faces. Some of the players in India are bigger than the game, SRT and MSD foremost among them. The selectors know that if they take a decision that could possibly be legitimately taken on cricketing merit, they will always be 'The Men Who Dropped Sachin / Dhoni', and it will follow them like a stigma for the rest of their lives. As an aside to this, of course, whilst India retain the megastars and retain some element of playing success, then the money and sponsorship will continue to pour in, and the BCCI will continue to benefit / profit from it. However badly Tendulkar and Dhoni are playing, there is nobody better waiting in the wings, and, more importantly, nobody with anything like the earning power. Which is why I expect to see Sachin playing into his 40's as nobody will be brave enough to tell him "you've been the greatest Indian cricketer, and an all time great of the global game, but enough is enough..."

cricexpt
on December 12, 2012, 11:31 GMT

@kdevil3: When Ganguly was given the captaincy he was not groomed nor did anybody give him certificate that he will be successful. He got captaincy at a difficult period. So who can specify who the best captain will be?
Dhoni according to me is the worst Test captain. He should be sacked .

And for that to happen Mr Srinivasan needs to be Sacked first.

challagalla
on December 12, 2012, 11:30 GMT

Amarnath is a straight man and he talk like that. He once called the selectors a bunch of jokers. He loved to hook and the short ball was a red rag to him. He got out too many times hooking. I guess that straight talking landed him in trouble and cost him the chairman's post. Pity today BCCI is controlled by businessmen and politicians. I have nothing against them being in BCCI , after all they are duly elected. I only want them to put Indian cricket ahead of their business interests and petty egos. Please end mindless parochialism, riduculous turf battles and egoistic behaviour and for once lets think of the best interests of Indian and world cricket.

givemefood
on December 12, 2012, 11:27 GMT

Amarnath, 1 of 11 key players in winning a world cup. Dhoni - a key player, contributor, and captain who won 2 world cups for India. Yeah so Dhoni gets to hold on to test captaincy despite poor batting and leading a team of poor batters. If Dhoni needs to go, then Sehwag and Tendulkar needs to be shown the door as well.

Like how @Jithin choyi pointed out... Amarnath should have shown he had a backbone by sticking to his decision instead of coming out like a chicken right now and getting his news.

bMike
on December 12, 2012, 11:27 GMT

It would be really difficult to find a captain like Dhoni who can find unbelievable excuses out of nowhere (cloudy sky, Oxygen percentage of air, humidity level etc) whenever India lose. That might be the only reason why they wanted to retain Dhoni as captain.

on December 12, 2012, 11:26 GMT

Views given by Mohinder Amarnath is excellent. While selecting the team the selectors should examine whether the players are physically fit , i don't know what the selectors are doing. The selectors should give preference to the youngsters whiling selecting. I hope that Mohinder Amarnath should be the chairperson of BCCI.

Hats to Mohi

on December 12, 2012, 11:26 GMT

Yes Mr Amarnath is right,he is very honest and really well-wisher of Indian cricket,

on December 12, 2012, 11:23 GMT

Not sure if Nagpur test is going to be last test of Sachin, but looks like its for Dhoni :)

Kumar_NJ_USA
on December 12, 2012, 11:17 GMT

@Jithin Choyi: Did you miss the part about Srinivasan shooting down the proposal to sack Dhoni? The selectors, obviously, don't have the power that people think they have.

TSJ07
on December 12, 2012, 11:16 GMT

....continued- Agreed this trio did not perform but then neither SRT,Dhoni,Kohli and Ashwin also did not perform.But then this is how the dirty game is being played by BCCI at the cost of people like me and Indian flag.

TSJ07
on December 12, 2012, 11:13 GMT

@Dave Kelly- Its Indian media which creates the hype.When he burst to scene India till then never had a WK worth making even to current BD/Zimbabwe sides after Kirmani. He initially scored against SL in dead piches against the likes of Jaysuria,Russel Arnold and other dibly dobly bowlers (Murli was absent).Then media picked on him but he really became immune to everything after he was selected the captain of CSK whose owner is President of BCCI. I guess I dont need to explain further.We never thought of Dravid,Laxman,Yuvi,Kumble,Srinath,Ganguly,Bhajji,Sidhu as 'Heroes' who have done very well for India but chose Sachin and Dhoni ,two most selfish cricketers you will ever see.
BTW I'm from India and a die hard fan of Indian cricket team.Even after so much politics and messy afairs and mismanagement Indian team did very well last decade but now with the exit of Dravid and Laxman all the shortcomings will be exposed by good teams.You also saw it with the exit of Yuvi,Bhajji,Zaheer.

on December 12, 2012, 11:12 GMT

csk owner srinivasan preventing dhoni from sacking,if he is not a csk player he would have been dropped way back

on December 12, 2012, 11:12 GMT

@dave kelly. u r absolutly right. I tell u reason for his high regard & hyped match winner image. he is captain of chennai superkings team of ipl which is owned by srinivasan (bcci chief) himself. so everyone can easily understand why would srinivasan will lower down its franchise brand value by sacking dhoni. dhoni is the most selfish cricketer of world. he is too clever & cunning & shows himself the hero of every success in advrtisements in india & made responsible the pitches, sehwag-gmbhir (not his blind followers) responsible for every loss.

chethanch
on December 12, 2012, 11:11 GMT

Dhoni himself is not a test player then how come he will lead the indian team. The leader should be example. Dhoni dont have the capable of playing long innings & for long duration. thats what test cricket. For his batting style test match will not suit. High bat lift & less foot work & Responsibility of captain& w/k keeping will burden in long format of the game.

Ayush_Chauhan
on December 12, 2012, 11:10 GMT

I actually think the reverse, its easier to replace Dhoni as an ODI captain, rather than a Test captain. Once the new captain is comfortable with his role and has earned the respect of his team-mates, then he can take over as the test captain.

on December 12, 2012, 11:05 GMT

is the team for the triangular series announced? anyone knows what could be the team?

on December 12, 2012, 11:02 GMT

I believe Dhoni should stay on for a while. A bit longer. He supports the middle order when it fails and that is what captains do. He is an average keeper and his problem is not his captaincy. India still cannot find or select fast bowlers who can move the ball both ways. The fast bowler do not trouble any batsman. The spinners are what I call 'luck' bowlers. They spin the ball well but they do not have cricket tactics, strategy or experience to get batsmen out. They cannot bowl a simple straight ball in their six deliveries. Why blame Dhoni. He has to work with what he is given. Who else you have at the moment.
It might be a good idea to train someone to take over before sacking Dhoni but the problem will still be the bowling department as usual. One good question is how your neighbour Pakistan can find fas bowlers and India cannot?

on December 12, 2012, 10:58 GMT

already I know this thing because srinivasan is dohni God Father.Think Indian cricket lovers, in past any captain was their as a capatain of indian cricket team 7 consecutive losses in test cricket.I totally agree with amaranath sir.

on December 12, 2012, 10:58 GMT

I salute you Mohinder! For once, an Indian has come out with all guns blazing and told us what we knew all along, but never ratified from within the BCCI.

rkannancrown
on December 12, 2012, 10:57 GMT

Why did Amarnath not resign when the selector's decision was overruled by BCCI bosses as he claims today ?

rajsarkar1980
on December 12, 2012, 10:53 GMT

Jimmy done it again. Rubbing the Ind cric admin wrong way. He hit the nail right on its head. The ppl who are running BCCI now are more concerned abt making it cash rich. Dhoni has be captain. So much money riding on him.Also on Sachin.. Poor guy, seems like he wants to retire,but the bussinesses want him to stay to grab xtra milage.Tough on a man who has given his more than half of his life to Ind Cric

itsthewayuplay
on December 12, 2012, 10:47 GMT

'When you respect a person you don't ask questions.' What utter nonsense. Where is this rule written. Students respect their teachers or at least they should but asking questions is integral to their learning. India is supposed the world's largest democracy and a selector can't ask questions. Translated, he's saying he didn't want to upset anyone. As Ganguly has said to play as keeper, batsman and captain in all three formats means we may end up losing Dhoni as a player. He needs support with his workload. The BCCI and selectors, current and former, all talk the talk but never walk the walk. These guys haven't got a clue nor are they interested in getting clued up. They pick players as say you've got your chance, make the most of it. Spineless like the team when their backs are up against the wall.

ste13
on December 12, 2012, 10:40 GMT

It only confirms that being "test star" and "test captain" translates into strong marketing value, also for IPL.
But I agree with some voices that there is not an easy choice, who the replacement should be.
Either with Dhoni or not, India players must show motivation and more desire to succeed, as current lethargic approach is one of the key differences between India and England.

surensoni
on December 12, 2012, 10:31 GMT

Indian cricket is rotting at the core. Collusion between players and administrators , Administrators economic interests in the game, lack of team's spirit are few to name.. With power brings responsibility and also brings richness and prejudices , so let's not give it to few individuals for long. Indian cricket need some like Amaranth and Kapil Dev at its core

on December 12, 2012, 10:24 GMT

If he is brave enough then he should have revealed this then not now; Instead he ran away from his job silently, but now he is "fishing for compliments"

on December 12, 2012, 10:23 GMT

I have been a great admirer of Amarnath as a cricketer. But it could not be accepted that sacking of Dhoni and appointing Kohli to lead is the panacea for all the ills that plague Indian cricket;
Why didn't Mohinder come out with the speculation for backing of Dhoni as soon as he was sacked? Why is he venting this at a juncture when the team is trialling 1-2? Is this called hitting below the belt a man in distress?
When is the right time for him to speak his so called facts?
No Mohinder we expect better balance from you--You must realise that 0-8 loss was due to collective failure of the team--It is true that Dhoni has his shortcomings in Test cricket--But his captaincy may not be isolated for accusation

on December 12, 2012, 10:22 GMT

As I reiterated earlier Dhoni is not fit to be Test captian beccause we have overlooked players like Laxman and that is what we paying the price for now.

Dhoni is there because of his achieve ments in ODI & T20 which should not be the case.

We have made a mistake and it is still not high to bring back Mercurial Laxman.

regards
Rajan

usernames
on December 12, 2012, 10:16 GMT

Trust us to jump on conspiracy theory bandwagon. As much as Dhoni is responsible, Amarnath can't get away with such scathing remarks, or rather an opportunistic outburst. Amazing, really, how these guys get such loudmouth after their tenure is over and yet act foolish inside their tenure. You ought to quit when your decision was overruled.

on December 12, 2012, 10:11 GMT

BCCI would surely be blind even if they don't see the attitude of Dhoni in tests...it's clear that this man doesn't wants to play Tests...he looks directionless, confused & unwilling to do anything out of the box.....clearly the burden of test, odi's,t20's,ipl & clt20 is TOO MUCH on him.

For the well being of Indian Cricket DHONI should be dropped from Tests & Saha / Kaul should be made wicketkeeper with SEHWAG as Captain.

In ODI's he is one of the important player hence he should continue as Captain/WK.

In T20's given his poor batting record & unable to accelerate at times of need, he should be replaced by Dinesh Karthik/Robin Uthappa as WK , while VIRAT KOHLI should be made to captain the T20 side.

on December 12, 2012, 10:02 GMT

New dimension has added to BCCI politics after the rise of IPL. This is the same reason that there is rift between Gambhir, Sehwag Delhi guys and Dhoni, Raina CSK guys. This has impacted a lot on Gambhir's performance and we have lost tomorrow's captain. IPL is the reason for all the failures India witnessing currently.

Sporty-critic
on December 12, 2012, 10:01 GMT

Sometimes we are made to wonder whether we are watching the Indian cricket team or the Chennai super kings. The owner of the IPL team has all the rights to sack or retain anyone whether they are performing or not. But as far as the National side is concerned, it cannot be at the prerogative of an individual but should be decided on merit. If there is no consensus, then there should be a vote on this to decide whether any player, even the captain, should be replaced or not.

Why are we not selecting a team keeping in mind the future plans and not just the next test ? I am sure, Sandeep Patil has all the answers and if he is allowed to function in a professional way, then definitely we will all see the results in the near future. If not, then disband the selection committee and let the BCCI select the players based on their own thinking.

ravi_hari
on December 12, 2012, 9:59 GMT

We all know how Jimmy talks. He definitely did not want to be a part of the bunch of jokers and was keen on changing the selection process. He was shunted out because BCCI bosses did not want such an honest man at the helm. Jimmy is right is asking for Dhoni's head. His technique and record in tests is very poor. Of late his keeping also got affected and you can look at the number of byes he has conceded this series. He does not merit a place in the side. We should look at a better keeper-batsman. Saha is ok. Secondly we need a leader. Gambhir is the automatic choice. Having led KKR to glory, Gambhir seems to have the aggression for a leader. However, he should be nurtured and should be given a team of his choice. Virat can be groomed to take over in the next couple of years time. Dhoni can still lead ODI and T20 team until Kohli graduates into a leader. As for Sachin every one feels he should take a decision before he is forced to move. Leave in grace like Ponting, never mind records.

Aravind_always
on December 12, 2012, 9:58 GMT

Replace dhoni in the test team with Parthiv Patel..he is in terrific form for gujarat in ranji trophy and Sehwag should be the new captain of test team...

Pissu11
on December 12, 2012, 9:18 GMT

I dont think India since they started playing Cric looks like that they can win overseas. India is force to recon in Sub continent but once they go overseas they do not perform well.. Y to blame dhoni 4 OZ eng below par performance.

It is good that selector or managment has shown confidence in Dhoni and retained him as captain.

on December 12, 2012, 9:15 GMT

Batting is faling for 1 year only bcz of lack of batting wickets...............................Plz no nonesense just prepare low slow dust bowls & all Indian batsman will come back in form & score 200s ......No one needs to be dropped & or retired....................Low bownce will challenge opposition's back foot players & Ind will win a few matches too.........All problems solved s ....So simple Logic..........Ahmadabad was a dustbowl & Ind won.............Don't know Y Indians not preparing dustbowls lately when it is a sure WINNING FORMULA ???? defies logic

Crimsonbat
on December 12, 2012, 9:13 GMT

BCCI politics!! There is politics in all cricket boards.There will be politics always when three people get together.

on December 12, 2012, 9:10 GMT

Sponsors decide who should be captain, who should play....not form of the players......BCCI committee is suitably rewarded in their personal capacity......this is the mantra of poor team formation.....no big secret

on December 12, 2012, 9:09 GMT

Mohinder Amarnath has no right to take high moral standing. He was part of the same n lame selection panel which failed to comply the majority decision. Blaming 'other influence' is nothing else but a sign of weakness bcoz his commitment for the cause was not there at that crucial time!!!

on December 12, 2012, 9:07 GMT

Indian cricket authorities - a large drink up in a brewery they could not organise.

crindex
on December 12, 2012, 9:03 GMT

Why would Mohinder say this now when India is down 2-1 in the series against England and not before? What game is he playing? Indian cricket is full of such sensationalists .

on December 12, 2012, 9:01 GMT

Its no wonder why we are where we are heading down the raknings...

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 12, 2012, 8:55 GMT

India is fast becoming the laughing stock of world cricket from both a player and administrative perspective. They need to get thier house in order and make some sweeping changes. It sounds like there is a bit of jobsworth going on.

ARIF3011
on December 12, 2012, 8:55 GMT

All well said. But Jimmy showed towards the end of the article that he is another Indian who at some places can't be as critical and vocal where Sachin comes in the topic of discussion. When he can use the kind of language that he has used for Dhoni (and I liked that), why he is suggesting very softly to the selectors "the selectors have to have a word with him, what are his plans. Then they should take a call and then decide". It means Sachin is bigger than all - they have to ask him about his plans rather than just dropping him!!!! Jimmy could have said the same for Sachin what he has suggested for Dhoni! Why different yardstick? I am an Indian and I want Sachin to be "sacked" before anyone else! In my opinion, for Nagpur test vs England, he should have been dropped ahead of Yuvraj Singh who did much better than what the ex-Great had done!

aadh_king
on December 12, 2012, 8:52 GMT

Fact:
In tests the team is performing bad this year, not only MSD
When team wins, MSD's luck is talked about not his captaincy
When team loses, Axe is on his head and MSD controls Indian cricket despite worst performances
MSD is a captain who goes behind the team when its celebrating a win and lead from front when team's performance is being criticized and always back the players genuinely. You accept or not?
England under Cook & spinning coach M Mohammed is outstanding
What Mr. Tendulkar, Mr. Sehwag, Mr. Gambhir etc... doing?
Sehwag for captain??, WT... no comments.

Overall I wont accept his allegations, i feel this is Amarnath's outburst for his expulsion from national selector role in just a year

Woo Amaranth is projecting MSD like Mafia Leader or Hitler of say Indian Cricketing Fraternity... Good comedy

RISHI2016
on December 12, 2012, 8:52 GMT

Dhoni has been lucky... however whenever he has pushed to a corner albeit bad performance he tends to get excuse... if he was so clear in staying at crease, how on the earth he poked one simple outswinger in second innings...or if it showed positive intent to play his strokes, even henry olonga knew to slash harder... Amarnath has always beeen in bad books of administration... he was dropped more often in his playing career and when he spoke his mind he was kicked out of selection panel... indeed msd is good player but how many chnaces u wanna give him.. he does not have that power also to muscle his way around like kapil pa ji did... he needs to work on playing fast bowlers... he just averages 20 plus in last two years...

jmoses
on December 12, 2012, 8:48 GMT

Dhoni should go! He doesn't deserve to be in the team even as the 12th man, but I know this will never happen since he has the blessings of top BCCI officials. India is probably the only country where sports and politics go hand in hand. Common fan of Indian cricket is tired of this mess and day is not far when he stops watching any cricket. More than half of the current Indian team has non-performers and are just in the team because of their proximity to the BCCI officials. Indian cricket is in a state of coma and will lose its life anytime in the near future.

pranay_bangalore
on December 12, 2012, 8:45 GMT

Amarnath ji once batted for six innings in a series and made 1 run,yes u read it correct. one run and five ducks. He then played 5 years of test cricket after that...Enuff said

moBlue
on December 12, 2012, 8:43 GMT

mohinder is once again my gutsy hero! easily the second best batter of that generation [second marginally to sunny, perhaps] who thrived in the WI and PAK against (literally!) scary fast bowling, the same BCCI ruined his cricketing career for so long, yet he shined when they finally gave him the shot that was long overdue! he always spoke truth to power and continues to do so! the MOM all-rounder of IND's greatest world cup campaign is the one that the BCCI chooses to force out! says a lot about the corrupt BCCI, all right.

why is dhoni protected?!? the dude has long not been worth his place in tests, especially when IND tour abroad! give karthik or saha or parthiv a chance... they are all better bats than dhoni in tests! i agree with mohinder that dhoni is tremendous in limited-overs cricket, but not in tests, mosDef! his captaincy has also flagged over the years! they should make sehwag the captain! it will be an interesting exercise, what with sehwag's street-fighter instincts!!!

VivtheGreatest
on December 12, 2012, 8:38 GMT

Amarnath has just stated the obvious. Its pretty obvious to most Indian fans that Dhoni is still in the Test team let alone being captain only due to his CSK connections. Many Indian captains have lost their jobs for far less humiliating performances than this, in fact Srikkanth was dropped from the team despite being the first Indian captain not to lose a Test series in Pakistan, back in 89-90.

on December 12, 2012, 8:29 GMT

Well said Amarnath. Dhoni is a big waste and head ache to our team. He is not a good keeper, not good batsman then how he is surviving in the team. He has to be sacked from the team itself.

on December 12, 2012, 8:25 GMT

I don't see what's the big deal about having a 'discussion' about removing somebody and 'some' members agreeing.

saket8391
on December 12, 2012, 8:23 GMT

Amarnath is just a Dhoni hater..he's just too biased to give any contribution to indian cricket and hence was DESERVEDLY SACKED..if he wants to highlight what dhoni has done in tests for last one year, then he must take into consideration what others have done..here are some stats which he should have a look on:

Gambhir's last one year record in tests (Avg: 28.31)
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/28763.html?class=1;spanmax1=12+Dec+2012;spanmin1=12+Dec+2011;spanval1=span;template=results;type=allround

Tendulkar's last one year record in tests (Avg: 28.75)
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/35320.html?class=1;spanmax1=12+Dec+2012;spanmin1=12+Dec+2011;spanval1=span;template=results;type=allround

Dhoni's last one year record in tests (Avg: 31.41 -----> MORE THAN THE AVERAGES OF THE SO CALLED GOD OF CRICKET-TENDULKAR AND DHONI's REPLACEMENT AS A CAPTAIN IN TESTS-GAMBHIR)

MSD has done much better than SRT and gambhir DESPITE BEING THE CAPTAIN AND WICKETKEEPER..

I-Mac
on December 12, 2012, 8:18 GMT

I agree with replacing Dhoni as skipper and dropping him from the test squad.

As far as SRT goes he should be the one calling time on his career and should be doing it now rather than go out with a wimper. He has been a great cricketer but is fast becoming as has been and I sincerely hope that he puts up one last ton in the last test and then hangs up his boots with his head held high. The exceptions to greats performing well into their 30's are Kallis and Chanderpaul who are both having amazing runs as the end of their careers approach.

Sooryan_Indian
on December 12, 2012, 8:18 GMT

Totally agree with Amarnath sir. Dhoni is a great player in ODIs but not in Tests.
He hasn' t done anything in the past 1 year as mentioned by many people and alsop he did not inspire with his captaincy as well. When he took up the test captaincy, he did a lot to inspire the entire team and also along with GARY KIRSTEN he was gelling well and that combination is missed now.

along with dhoni being dropped for tests and used as a ODI captain, duncan fletcher should also be sacked and a new younger coach can be appointed who will gel with the team

Bogelking
on December 12, 2012, 8:17 GMT

It is absolutely correct what Amarnath said. It is time to move ahead infusing within the test team some good players, of which we have no dearth. Lot of young players are there, who withering the pressures of first class cricket have proven their mantle saying that they too are fit for the longer format of the game. Hence chance should be given to them. This comments has been brought before, but a couple of good innings from those people under criticism; we tend to forget everything. Rather then resting upon the past laurels that a player has achieved, if he is not delivering according to the onus placed upon him, should be removed. This applies not to the "Master Blaster" only but others as well. The sooner BCCI rectifies its stance of exerting pressures, the better for Indian cricket.

on December 12, 2012, 8:15 GMT

Amarnath -"If you see his track record for the last one year as captain, I am talking about Test matches, not one-day, he hasn't done anything" -he's a bit harsh on MSD. The Indian team has done poorly this calendar year. MSD's batting average is better than that of Gambhir, Viru & SRT in 2012, so let's not use him as a fall guy! The whole team needs a revamp & rebuilding has to be carefully worked out

starincricket
on December 12, 2012, 8:15 GMT

This is Really unncessary from Amarnath. Everyone knows there is politics in Indian Cricket. i did not see much of politics in recent 3 to 4 years openly..

It looks amarnath is creating politics because of this...

Things should be looked for long term gain for indian team, not just removing dhoni.. if there was talk about removal of Dhoni, it shd have been done..

if amarnath not want to share what is internal, or what is blocked or what r the influences behind.. he no need to share them to external world.

all should be sacked at the same level .. atleast A class players like dhoni,sachin,sehwag

similarly, B class players and c class players...

if u want to allow sometime for A class players then remove c and b class players..

Its agreeable that A class players did many for the team. and u r allowing time for them because of age or star values.

but, when no A class players signing..move them to class B....even if not class c, then out..

on December 12, 2012, 8:13 GMT

Then who else for test cricket? Name a captain? If you want to talk about individual performance only Pujara deserve and Ashwin to some extent. What about others Sachin, Gambir, Sehwag, Kohli, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan all these guys failed. What do you expect from the captain, do a miracle? Amarnath should talk about all these people who failed. He chose Dhoni as scape goat so that he can come to limelight. And we all bought it and discussing it here. I saw all the match ball by ball and Dhoni did great job as wicket keeper. But none of our so called great batsmen did anything. So point finger there than using Dhoni as scape goat.

rashivkd
on December 12, 2012, 8:09 GMT

When Dhoni took over the captaincy, he looked like a bold man with brilliant thoughts. But once team struggles with eight straight losses, he lost himself. In CB series, we seen he was thinking about next world cup rather than current series. We gave R Sharma an extra run by sitting out our most experienced top three. But look at now where we stands, two years till to go for next WC, but Sharma out of our team. Its happening now also, we are talking about 2013 SA tour and the role of SRT and openers in that tour. I am not talking about SRT who is the greatest ever cricketer we have seen. But we don't think about or tell about SA tour. We should talk about this match, this innings, this ball. Players should select as horse for course. Look at England side, they dropped their most successive bowler of this calender year for one whom didn't played much in near past. So first India should realize that, each series is bigger than any other.

on December 12, 2012, 8:08 GMT

Mr. Amarnath with all due respect for what u have done for India, i strongly disagree with ur point of view.. At place there is no other quality Indian Wicket Keeper batsmen who can perform at the International Level.. What we just have is a Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel who are only domestic bowling performers while Saha is an outstanding keeper but his batting skills is a big question mark and doesnt inspire confidence.

And coming back to Captaincy, Indian Team is failing as a whole unit.. Whom do u want as a captain? Gautham Gambhir who has even more poorer record than Dhoni.. Also Gambhir hasnt scored any test hundred in the part 3 years now.. Making Sehwag is too risky at this stage. Kohli hasnt proved it in Test Matches.. All others are just new to international cricket. The best option we have is DHONI and he is a proven cricketer and a fighter..

mitwa_4u
on December 12, 2012, 8:04 GMT

Well, everyone is unhappy with India's performance. Who is responsible for that? bowlers or batsmen?
Both the department is quite poor but no one is talking about Indian Coach. Since the day he has joined India team, there is no improvement. What a use of him? What activities he is doing?
Kirsten put all his efforts and Team did well and won many matches or series. Selectors also need to think about coach and all. Players also need to improve their performance and i am not agree with Amarnath statement. We can not replace captain at this stage.

Edassery
on December 12, 2012, 8:01 GMT

@Dave Kelley, that's something to do with the culture I think. The Indian fans likes only hard-hitting batsmen - there' no room for test quality players or good bowlers in their minds. The success (or hype) of the likes of Yuvraj and Dhoni lies there. Also, people mistake IPL success for India's success.

Both these players are highly overrated an haven't done much on their own to win matches for India. May be a Natwest series victory or a century in Pakistan is what I can recall apart from the WC victory where Yuvraj played macho innings in flat pitches.

Nigels
on December 12, 2012, 8:00 GMT

That influence is not only killing Indian cricket but it is killing the world cricket at large.....sort it out.!

pcraju
on December 12, 2012, 7:56 GMT

Indian team doesnt have too many Captain materials. Virat is the only possible captain next i can see and Gautam is definitely not. Captain has to be treated with respect so that players can respect him and be an united team under him. Hence we need to retain Dhoni for captaincy but he has to be coached properly. His areas of weaknesses definitely need to be looked into. He doesnt have that aggression as a captain what Ganguly had. He has to build pressure for the opponents. I can see there is no pressure for the England Batsmen at all when they come to bat though there are 11 Indian players on the field and Dhoni is right behind the batsman. He also should be strictly told not to go for his choice of players like Jadeja, Raina, etc. Ashwin somehow showed with the Bat but his bowling is poor not spin at all. Dhoni should also correct his batting style to suit the longer format. So Dhoni needs improvement not sacking. He has the foundation to get better.

on December 12, 2012, 7:49 GMT

I stilll believe that dhoni is among the best player of current selected team, if the selected team players are not performing well then we cant blame wholly on captain. So Sir Amarnath. please dont play blame game. As u see the records of last 8 test matches Dhoni has given better performance than many. Sir if you have any personal issue with the players then plz dont make it on public platform like this.

baskar_guha
on December 12, 2012, 7:48 GMT

"I live for today, not for tomorrow." Now that is not easy to do especially in India so Amarnath must be quite a renegade. The only way Indian cricket survives is despite itself. Lets wait for the next prodigy and all will be well again.

@Dave Kelly: Dhoni is powerful because of the IPL team he captains which is owned by one Mr Srinivasan who also is the head of the BCCI. (Conflict of interest, you say. Welcome to India.) When Dhoni stops playing for Srinivasan's IPL team, he will be jettisoned.

on December 12, 2012, 7:47 GMT

Mr.Amarnath. Why should you wait till today to bring this in to public. May be you are just taking advantage of Calcutta match defeat and talking like this. If you say this as soon as they remove you from panel there is some sense. You took long. Nobody believe you. Thanks

jayesh.chaudhari
on December 12, 2012, 7:46 GMT

India is the only place in whole world where man can be selected on his reputation and not on his hard work, then its cricket or politics.

MaruthuDelft
on December 12, 2012, 7:39 GMT

Hang on... MS Dhoni is a wicket keeper first. He does that OK. Then he scores at least one good test fifty in every 3 to 4 tests played abroad. In Home conditions he scores test hundreds. If you consider his performance since the 2010 South African tour he scored 5 good fifties in SA, WI, Eng and Aus. I think he is good for test matches too if you go by stats. However if you by style then the way he plays is not something that spreads confidence. If Mohinder means it he is right. But as long as blunt head (I've heard he is an Engineer - Ha Ha ) like Srinivasan in power you just cannot do something controversial but perfectly rational and necessary.

Thyagu5432
on December 12, 2012, 7:35 GMT

It is really a mystery how Dhoni has even overtaken Sachin in terms of popularity, authority etc. I think youngsters have taken to him in a big way from the way he used to bat in his earlier days. He was the one who was responsible for the Fearless brand of cricket. But unfortunately, his fearless brand of cricket hardly gets noticed these days because he doesn't stay long enough in the crease to showcase all that, especially in test matches. Whatever it is, we have to give it to him. With the likes of Sachin, Dada, Dravid, VVS, Sehwag around here was somebody who came much later then all these and still took charge of the team. His batting form was not this bad until a few years back and now his batting is really letting him down. So if performance is the criteria then Dhoni should step down (or sacked). By the same yardstick Sachin also should step down (or sacked). Mohinder has the guts to talk about Dhoni but not Sachin. Everybody has their own agenda.

Allie
on December 12, 2012, 7:33 GMT

The selectors are the biggest problem, you cannot tell me that there is no better fast bowler in a country of a billion than Isant Sharma. That Dhoni's keeping is average and his batting in Tests hardly helps the team's cause is certainly reason to look elsewhere but it is not the biggest of problems. For as long as I can remember, Pakistan has been producing great fast bowlers playing in the same conditions and those bowlers made the ball talk.
Ishant, and of late Zaheer, merely takes the shine off for the spinners to do their thing. Bring back the likes of Irfan Pathan and the bowlers who can at least swing the ball. The current lot does nothing but up and down the wickets at medium pace.

t20-2007
on December 12, 2012, 7:28 GMT

Greg chapell can clean the rot...please ask him to join as coach asap!!

on December 12, 2012, 7:27 GMT

he is bit like greg chappell...problem is in coaching not with indian players...

on December 12, 2012, 7:27 GMT

Hats off to you Jimmy Amarnath.For those who have seen him hooking WestIndian quickies during his playing days and the way he called the selectors "A BUNCH OF JOKERS", his words are not a surprise.No wonder why this brave man of Indian cricket got kicked out from the selection committee.

makeshift
on December 12, 2012, 7:25 GMT

Words of wisdom from a respected cricketer and a World Cup winner- very well spoken Mr Amarnath- He is correct on his assessment of Indian cricket - Frank & Honest opinion

Alok505
on December 12, 2012, 7:22 GMT

Indian Politics & Cricket ...no difference , this clearly suggest amount of influence we have in cricket ...in past kapil, ganguly , srikant, bedi all lost captincy ..due to poor captainncy .... people like Rajiv shukla ...how can he defend srt & msd in public .,,, and the same time selectors are not permitted to talk about these players...this shows all

rajcan
on December 12, 2012, 7:18 GMT

Well Mr. Srinivasan, president of BCCI has vested interest. He is the owner of Chennai Super kings. Having removed Dhoni as a captain will reduce Dhoni's image and that will have some impact on Cheenai Super Kings.

Right Amarnath.....I am totaly agree with you, we must look for new captain for Test but the big question is who will??????????? it is a big question mark....I don't feel that or even most of the Indian feel that no one has groomed in current Indian test team to replace MSD as test captain....but certainly MSD can be replace in ODI captian by VK.

on December 12, 2012, 7:06 GMT

You've gotta be kidding me. A year ago, when we won the WC, these same people kissed Dhoni's feet. And what of Mohinder Amarnath. He spent half his career in and out of the team, mostly because of his sometimes mediocre performances. He got more breaks and comebacks because of his dad, Lala Amarnath.

harrdstone
on December 12, 2012, 7:03 GMT

He has spoken just the way he played the game.Never shy of accepting a challenge whether it was from the fearsome four of WI or the great Imran Khan.Well done Jimmy to speak up, you are a true servant of this great game.

KK47
on December 12, 2012, 6:54 GMT

Honest views from a respectable former cricketer. Even we, as cricket supporters can easily see that Dhoni as a test-cricketer does not inspire confidence. Agreed that he has been a very calm leader and his keeping has improved drastically over the years, its still not enough in modern day TEST cricket. Look around other top teams and you can see the talent out there- SL has Sangakkara, ENG has Prior, SA have AB De Villiers, Aus have Haddin/Wade and even NZ -McCullum. If you see around Indian domestic circuit, there are good players. Wriddhiman Saha seems a good choice or selectors can have a look at even Parthiv Patel whose batting technique is leaps ahead of Dhoni. I think its time that selectors are given a free reign and hopefully they choose the best team for next series atleast.

on December 12, 2012, 6:52 GMT

Amarnath has called selectors as a "bunch of jokers". Now, he himself has become a joker.oops a selector. He has never been getting along with establishment, either as a player or as a selector. That is why he was ousted. Now, he is taking it on players.Looking for cheap publicity. India played badly in Aus, England away series and now the home series. They played well enough to beat NZ and WI. Our wins are taken for granted. We won World cup, that is taken for granted. We lose, all the hell will break lose. Dhoni is a leader of some calibre, and has proved that on numerous occasions. He has not won the test away series, because the team is not strong enough. As simple as that. As they say, a captain is as good as the team. As there is no one good enough to take the mantle Dhoni is the available best...Poor state of affairs. For some people everything is politics. Gavaskar's son,Srikkanth's son, Binny' son never played for India. There is some fairness in selection...

gandhala
on December 12, 2012, 6:43 GMT

I agree with Srinivasan-Dhoni relationship . But there are other aspects of the game that the administrators are concerned about. Now that Dravid, Laxman is gone and Sachin will go early too. Who do we have as a crowd puller in this team ? If he is sacked as captain , he cant be in the team and no crowd puller. when it is said "This is not the right time" , this is what is means .Having said that i totally agree that Dhoni is not a test material any more. May be he should start playing more aggressively and get some runs before getting out .If I am dhoni's shoe i wont mind coming straight after sehwag gets out and play some attacking strokes and keep less pressure at the other end . Cheers

Vicky_051
on December 12, 2012, 6:42 GMT

@Jithin: Its already mentioned in the article that who stopped them.

here2rock
on December 12, 2012, 6:39 GMT

I am not surprised that Mohinder Amarnath quit the selection committee because the decisions as to who play for India are not made by the selectors alone but heavy influences from BCCI. Every word he said has a lot of weight to it but unfortunately no one will listen to him. Indian cricket is in mess because of those incorrect decisions to continue with Dhoni, Duncan Fletcher, Tendukkar and many more despite given a long run. There is no accountability in Indian cricket.

cricfanraj
on December 12, 2012, 6:38 GMT

Totally agree with @Jitin . I have high regard for Amarnath ,but this is totally uncalled for. If he really got guts he should have dropped Dhoni when he was in change. If he cannot do it then there is no point in cribbing now. It looks like talking irresponsibly when the team is in crisis. Only thing it will do is to add more pressure on Dhoni. The bottomline is team is failing collectively in all departments and as usual we target individuals and feel happy. There is not even one player but for Pujara , Ojha to some extent contributed. You cannot WIN the test matches by scoring 300 on these tracks.

salil247
on December 12, 2012, 6:35 GMT

Dhoni can quit today and he won't look back, I 'm sure. Dhoni is the highest earner from endorsements for various companies. Do you know why this is so, Mr. Amarnath? It is because he is loved by the majority in India. Companies won't hire him for endorsements if nobody likes him.
@ kdevil3- Don't you know Amarnath has already suggested Gambhir for Test captaincy? His question- "What has Dhoni done in the past one year?". What about others, Mr. A? Do you not remember the complete and utter failure of every single player in England & Australia? And what about the present series? Technique in Tests? Again, what about the batting "technique" of the rest?
He is one of the very very few Indian players who have guts. Hark back to the
world cup final. He walked in ahead of Yuvi knowing full well it could be his undoing. That's courage. A captain doesn't need to be the highest scorer. He needs to be a leader. Even the best leader couldn't save this Indian team. Enough said.

Captain_Crick
on December 12, 2012, 6:30 GMT

It's a known fact that the 'BCCI -Indian selector' is a highly paid job. Amarnath was to become the next Chairman of selectors after Srikanth K. However Amarnath had the guts and integrity to stand firm in his beliefs,principles and not be dictated by the vested interests. Hats off to him! Others selectors kept mum keeping in mind the consequences involved (losing their jobs, pension etc). Like Sehwag mentioned the other day - " Now only God can save Indian Cricket"

on December 12, 2012, 6:30 GMT

@deepak_sholapurkar No he won't get pension, I don't think he bothers about that. lol

I completely agree with Mr. Amarnath I did wonder for a long time that how Dhoni can remain in the Test team since he hasn't contributed much with Bat in Tests but as a Captain. Now I feel he deserves to be replaced.

Now I know why he wasn't. Thanks sir for your open talk.

on December 12, 2012, 6:26 GMT

We all knew about this .........but finally there's someone brave enough to accept the facts........Indian Cricket needs to be freed from the greed of Businessman and Politicians.........Cricket Administration should only be controlled by ex-cricketers........

on December 12, 2012, 6:24 GMT

So drop Dhoni and assign who as the captain?
This knee jerk reaction to axe the captain is nuts, yes the TEAM failed on these tours .....a collection of Batsmen who struggle against pace and swing, a collection of bowlers that are mediocre at best and fielders who just can't be call athletic in any regard.
And thus the blame goes to Dhoni?

TheOnlyEmperor
on December 12, 2012, 6:21 GMT

In all my years of watching cricket, I can say Dhoni has the best "match sense as a captain" in the last 40 years. He is far far better than Saurav, Dravid, Kumble and Gavaskar at the top of the pile. At the bottom of the pile of Indian captains with minimal cricketing sense is Bedi, Venkat, Sachin, Srikanth, Vengsarkar and Shastri. Kapil and Azhar were just marginally above the bottom pile. While Dhoni is astute as a captain, he can be only win if the bowlers take 20 opposition wickets. Zaheer is past his expiry date and Ishant bowls like a kid who needs a haircut. Show me an Indian fast bowler who can bowl the yorker effectively? Kapil, Sreenath and Zaheer - the 3 pacemen of Indian cricket over the past 30 years, never ever learnt to bowl a yorker. The bench strength of the spinners is Bhajji, Chawla and Amit Mishra - all quite pathetic when it comes to bowling under pressure. Nobody has forgotten how Bhajji refused to bowl the last over of the 2007 T-20 world cup final in SA!

mlkt
on December 12, 2012, 6:20 GMT

outside influences include the all powerful IPL franchise owners...they control the continuation of dhoni captaincy or even non retirement of SRT.....

Rajeshj
on December 12, 2012, 6:16 GMT

Guys.. We have missed a brilliant selector who could have taken Indian Cricket to better heights.. sad that the Srinivasan-led management have thrown him out of selection panel.. pathetic.. I think its time to move the constitution to get rid of such morons spoiling Indian cricket.. It started partially with Dalmiya, then Pawar and his gang have politicized every bit of BCCI.. it should be cleansed.. It would be lot better for the game if Kumble is elected to the presidential post and be given a longer term to put together a robust structure, where each post of BCCI is occupied by meritorious candidates, rather than these rich guys taking turns at each post..

crindex
on December 12, 2012, 6:06 GMT

Mohinder Amarnath is shallow in his views. In the list of problems facing India team is not the captain but other issues :

1. Sachin not retiring despite his slump in form and time to retire has long come
2. Sehwag not in his prime and needs to allow youngsters to take his spot
3. Gambhir's slump in form which is the main reason for last 2 test defeats.
4. Weak middle order batting
5. Weak bowling attack
6. No clear alternative to Dhoni in sight.

So no point in wasting energy on individuals when team as a whole is in slump.

Jawz
on December 12, 2012, 6:02 GMT

You have hooked fabulously for 6 with this absolutely correct analysis. U r spot on Mr Amarnath the way you were against the likes of Andy Roberts & Co. There is obviously conflict of interest when u consider the wily old fox Srinivasan, the owner of Chennai Super Kings of which Dhoni is captain. Indian sports is suffering due 2 the outside influences & politicians, IOA is a case in point.

Dhoni needs to be replaced by Kohli as Captain and he has the potential to bring the Indian version of Michael Clarke's captaincy. Gv more power 2 the coach e.g. England and Australia. BCCI needs to be reigned in lest it spoil the world cricket( power and greed) e,g, DRS, Media Rights, Test Championship, FTP, etc.

V need 2 bring back urgently Rohit Sharma, a must as he will prosper in Tests. Bring back Kaif, a brilliant fielder, stayer at wicket.Just before he was dropped he scored 148 in WI. Bring in Saha or Karthik as WK instead of Dhoni. Kaif, Rohit, Saha/Karthik, will boost fielding standard

on December 12, 2012, 6:00 GMT

Take a bow Amarnath Sir , your comments might as well create a turmoil which is infact necessary to rebuild the BCCI structure in the first place. I have always felt BCCI should come under RTI. Srinivasan should be sacked with immediate effect.

suryasxn
on December 12, 2012, 5:56 GMT

Want India to lose 4th test for better future and changes to happen before AUS series .This guy has guts, he was embarrassingly removed as selector after a year but still dare to speak truth about the mighty BCCI.

for all his straight talk, mr amarnath stops short when it comes to dropping sachin. if dhoni needs to be dropped, why should sachin be talked to? what about the delhi trio - gambhir, shewag & ishant ? amongst batsmen only pujara & kohli deserve their spot. when 5 out of the top 7 are unable to bat on indian pitches, how are you going to win ? a captain is only as good as his team. remember even sachin could not captain successfully.

xylo
on December 12, 2012, 5:40 GMT

Could someone ask Amarnath about his views on Srikanth selecting his own son for India A tours? Was his voice box jammed at the time, or was it that the door of his office locked? Or was that because the BCCI threw a huge chunk of money his way in the name of a felicitation?

Lmaotsetung
on December 12, 2012, 5:36 GMT

@Dave Kelly - I'm an outsider too and rarely follow Indian cricket but from what I can deduce, Dhoni is "untouchable" because of his marketing value and also the fact that he is the captain of Chennai Super Kings which incidentally happens to be owned by none other than N. Srinivasan, the top brass at the BCCI.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on December 12, 2012, 5:35 GMT

Jimmy, brace yourself for BCCI's tirade against you. Very well said Jimmy.

karam11
on December 12, 2012, 5:35 GMT

I agree with Amarnath to some extent...its true Dhoni has the backing of Mr.Srinivasan also its a collective failure no other capatin would have changed the results in Eng & Aus with the mediocre bowling we have...our bowling standard is not even upto club cricket...I honestly believe the possible replacement captains are Sehwag who has reckless attitude to everything, Sachin's place in the team is questionable, Gambhir is out of form for almost two years doesnt deserve to be in the team...Kohil is not ready yet so the whole team is in disarray with these out of form batsmen and ageing players then the so called street cricket bowling you cannot blame dhoni....VVS Laxman should have continued playing for atleast a year which would have steadied the middle order...Timing of the retirement is hurting Indian Team...team cannot afford to lose the service of two crisis man....to put it in a nutshell change the whole team rather the sacking captain alone

GRVJPR
on December 12, 2012, 5:28 GMT

MS Dhoni Exposed as a Player and a Captain. Always going to happen this.

jobsy
on December 12, 2012, 5:26 GMT

I think we all can read between the lines. He was removed only because of this issue.But we Indians also need to introspect a lot.Dhoni was never an ideal test batsman and a keeper.I think it is only selection of 30% of the squad which is the issue and the people who have been given a chance have not performed.And who are you going to replace him with.Kohli?.The guy has to cement his place in the team first.Sehwag is on his last legs.Gambhir has to get back his form.Force him to play all the Ranji matches before the Aussies come here.Think Rahane should open in Nagpur with Gambhir and Sehwag should be in middle order.Put Awana and Dinda in and drop Ishant.The guy has been a waste for sometime.And rest assured if Awana does not play in Nagpur he will never be considered in future going by the history of Indian cricket.Dinda will also suffer the same fate.

electric_loco_WAP4
on December 12, 2012, 5:24 GMT

If not then what use is all the influence that power in Indian Cricket gives will be....
Dhoni is just making full benefit of his influences and making most for him in his time.

on December 12, 2012, 5:23 GMT

Amarnath Sir..... You are always so straight forward. Hatts OFF

on December 12, 2012, 5:20 GMT

@kdevil3.what about Dinesh Karthik?he is a good batsmen and experienced enough to even made captain.

on December 12, 2012, 5:19 GMT

Jithin Choyi, that is the problem, the power to dismiss some players does NOT rest with the selectors. It was commented in the story above that Dhoni was to be replaced was vetoed by those highjer than the selection committee

on December 12, 2012, 5:17 GMT

Most of us understand the same for a long time because Dhoni has got something special from his previous captains. Even Sachin was not got that much freedom what Dhoni got

on December 12, 2012, 5:09 GMT

Dhoni doesn't deserverd to be an Indian Test Team Captian, He should be replaced with Gautam Gambir....Its Srinivasan from BCCI who supports Dhoni Blindly, as he is the captian of chennai super Kings, wake up My Srinivasan, its not T20 ,Its real Cricket ,ie Test Cricket. the name says it all...

IndCricFan2013
on December 12, 2012, 5:01 GMT

Amarnath has all the rights to speak about thing openly. But timing of this is questionable. Still a test to play, a team has been named, he should have respected the current selectors, remember, he did not get the respect, all the more reason, he should be given one to current selectors. May be he felt this is high impact time, put it out there, since if he said it early, it would have been because he was removed, if he said it later, say Nagpur test India manage to win or draw, he would not get much impact. In a way Amaranth is being a politician as well. Also, per amarnath it was only a discussion, suppose if it was not respected by BCCI, then why did Amarnath continued being a selectors??? lot of questions to either side..One thing every one has to agree with amarnath Indian cricket and politics at high level goes hand in hand, but remember like he said it, it is not new, it has been this way for ever....

Chetan007
on December 12, 2012, 4:59 GMT

Selectors dwell more from past than to see present. Sachin should be dropped.

hnlns
on December 12, 2012, 4:59 GMT

Everybody can make out what "influence" Jimmy is talking about. He has pointed out lot of distressing things that are going on in Indian cricket. A person like him ought to be the chief selector today and selectors should function with autonomy if Indian cricket is to come out of the mess that exists today. Same autonomy must exist for groundsmen to perform their tasks professionally. The day Indian cricket embraces meritocracy and performance as the criteria for selection, our team will be better off.

DaisonGarvasis
on December 12, 2012, 4:57 GMT

You are talking about Dhoni. Yeah, he need to be sacked from Test Team. But whom are you talking to? Indian Selectors? Come on Jimmy, they just picked PIYUSH CHAWLA once again to rescue Indian Cricket. He gets dropped for non performances and gets picked again for no reason. There are these players who has the jacking and backing of god knows who and then you are talking about players like Dhoni. First revmoce players like Chawla fromk the system and then talk about performers like Dhoni

on December 12, 2012, 4:56 GMT

Well said Amarnath.... Dhoni should have removed much earlier....!! Thanks for showing the courage sir!! :) :)

getsetgopk
on December 12, 2012, 4:52 GMT

Not too long ago I commented on cricinfo that all this mess in Indian cricket is BCCI induced. For once in their entire cricketing life, India had a decent enough team that atleast did well in India and now they have ruined that too while the soul focus was on squeezing money out of cricket. IPL, CLT20 and countless international games India play in between have sucked life out of Indian cricket. BCCI have betrayed the Indian fans, it has betrayed cricket itself, pegging everything back to the stone age as they are doing with DRS. What they did to Amarnath, Kapil Deve and Kumble is proof enough that BCCI is out there to destroy cricket. While the likes of Sunny G, Shashtri, Ganguly are happy to play along as long as their bank accounts are ok. Good on you England for exposing this all. English media recently cleaned up our Pakistan cricket by exposing the cheats and now their cricket team is exposing Indian cricket. All hail ENGLAND!! The true home of cricket!

bluefunk
on December 12, 2012, 4:50 GMT

Mohammad Kaif should be brought in to captain the test side. He has the technique, has been performing solidly in domestic cricket, and didn't do too badly at all when he got a chance to play tests. He can bat five, Kohli at 6, Sharma at 4. Unmukt Chand should be groomed to replace Gambhir, in time for South Africa next year. Regarding the keeping, we have plenty of choices -- Patel has a good technique again quick bowling, Saha has the technique to hang in there (as he has shown a couple of times), and there's also Karthik. The government should intervene if Srinivasan's blatant manipulation of the system to further his CSK business interests continues. Selecting Jadeja for the third test is just the latest example. Surely, this has gone on for too long. Indian cricket is simply means too much to too many people to be held to ransom in this fashion.

Naikan
on December 12, 2012, 4:48 GMT

It is unfortunate that the Indian fan does not realise we have been taken for a ride for years and maybe decades bar a few things done correctly only for the sake of diffusing attention from some slips like the betting scandals, etc. People like Jimmy are able to scrape the surface and then they get shunted out. I would say the problems started roughly around the time India won the world cup in 83 and then we hosted the Reliance cup. It has been a roller coaster ride since then of money making for the BCCI, so all decisions are always with an eye on the money and not on the game. Else, how can a cricketer who scored 3 centuries against a team beating us black and blue be the one allowed to retire and a host of others are allowed to carry on? Of course Dravid does not carry that media generated charisma of bringing in money. I feel sorry for cricket and the English. India will continue to rule the money pots and will back only T20s. That will end the era of test cricket as we know it.

Baundele
on December 12, 2012, 4:45 GMT

DHoni can be replaced by Suresh Raina as the captain. Must be fun to watch it off the field.

Ronita
on December 12, 2012, 4:43 GMT

Mohinder Singh you are great. True to your wording your not among the bunch you dont belong to the bunch. Salute.

on December 12, 2012, 4:35 GMT

captaincy is the only thing thats keeping dhoni in the test squad

Joby_George
on December 12, 2012, 4:32 GMT

Well said. Mohinder was an extra ordinary player and a stubborn personality.

on December 12, 2012, 4:31 GMT

As I'm an outsider to Indian cricket, pehaps someone could explain why Dhoni has been held in such high regard for so long. For sure, he is a decent enough keeper/batsman who would make most test sides, but not what I would call something special. However, he seems to have been accorded a similar status to SRT, who despite being a bit overhyped, has clearly been one of the best players of this generation.

kdevil3
on December 12, 2012, 4:30 GMT

Mr. Amaranth.Ok you Dhoni should be replaced ,But with Whom.............please tell ,as of now there is no quality leader .I hope Amaranth will suggest this too I find only kholi ...but needs some time to prove it . Any how selectors have done well but replacing Harbajan ,Yuvi & Zaheer .Sreekanth selection team was really poor ................

Dhanno
on December 12, 2012, 4:28 GMT

haha..open secrets. play for chennai superflings, get some moolah and be an international cricketer.. join in you dhonis rainas vijays. you deserve it. You are test material. For good measure throw in a S. Anirudha, I mean he hasnt played Ranji for god awful 2 years but that shouldnt stop him from being test batsman one day.

Webba84
on December 12, 2012, 4:24 GMT

Amarnath sounds like a good man. When good men get removed from systems without explanation you know the system has a problem.

deepak_sholapurkar
on December 12, 2012, 4:23 GMT

Now Amarnath will not get the pension by BCCI

Sandt
on December 12, 2012, 4:20 GMT

EXCELLENT AMARNATH SIR. We lovers of Indian Cricket need some one like you stand up and say the truth. We understand what you had to face at your time at selection board. It is high time Dhoni has to be removed from Test team. I think even all the former cricketers maust have the same view as Amarnath has given but due to some reason not taking openly.

Rahul_78
on December 12, 2012, 4:16 GMT

There are some open secrets in Indian cricket. Right from Saurav-Dalmiya to MSD-Srinivasan a captain can not stamp his authority neither can he build a team he believes in without the backing of highest authority. Selectors and coaches are governed by BCCI big wigs. Mr.Amarnath makes a lot of sense but he has been up against the authorities right from his playing days. Many Indian fans still remember how an unknown named Noel David was sent to WI's when skipper Tendulkar was shouting for a fast bowler from roof tops. The politics has become part and parcel of Indian cricket. If MSD somehow manages to pull a rabbit out of hat in Nagpur his captaincy will be secured as long as Srinivasan is at the helm. Skippers and selectors will come and go but the nexus will remain in place.

on December 12, 2012, 4:15 GMT

Former Selectors are behaving like people who have no spine...

If they had to drop Dhoni, they should have done it then...

Who stopped them? They had the Power ... They could have used it..

It's always easy to put the axe on others head... Feeling really pity for the media as well....

on December 12, 2012, 4:15 GMT

Superb views from Mohinder Amarnath. This guy has guts, honesty and ability. He should have been Chairman of Selectors with complete independence.

on December 12, 2012, 4:14 GMT

You dare and you are unceremoniously removed. Pity Amarnath. Dhoni is highly influential. BCCI president is also owner of Chennai Super Kings. That speaks itself.

SwapnilDudhane
on December 12, 2012, 4:12 GMT

All are saying Dhoni should be sacked but what about Sehwag,Zaheer,Harbhajan what have they done to save indian test cricket.

jango_moh
on December 12, 2012, 4:05 GMT

Agree with dhoni's case completely... we fans hve been saying this for yrs... dhoni is a great limited overs player n captain.... but he just isnt good enuf as a batsman in tests, and all teams hve a good WK batsman..... saha, parthiv patel, dinesh karthik... there r so many out there, any of them would be better in TESTS!!!! i would def consider parthiv...

on December 12, 2012, 4:05 GMT

If Dhoni is in the team with outside influences, then I would like to tell you Mr. Amarnath; there are many names in the team who are there just because of influences i.e. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Zahir!!! Why aren't you talk about them too?

on December 12, 2012, 4:01 GMT

These people are talking about Dhoni's removal!!!
Why they are not much serious about removal of Gambhir, Sehwag, Sachin, Kohli, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zahir etc.too???
All of the were failed in last 3 test matches with England in home grounds.
Pujara has shown his strength in one 2 matches only. He was completely failed in 3rd test match.
About Ashwin.... He is in the team as a main stream spinner in team. He only showed complete strength as a batsman! Isn't it rubbish, too!
Can Amarnath tell us, who is eligible for a Captaincy after Dhoni?
Gambhir? Failed batsman since a long time......
Sehwag? Failed batsman & a good bowler who don't want to bowl for his country!!!
Kohli? Has he showed his complete ability in Test matches, yet???
.
.
Is there any one left?

ABOUT SACHIN.....Whole country need from him is to choose a right time to announce a retirement! Right times never come itself, we have to make it ourselves!

Sukumar_Kantri
on December 12, 2012, 4:01 GMT

Well said amarnath.. Msd should be replaced in test side atleast fir a series. In odis nd t20is he is an asset to indian team and not in tests any more. His contribution with the bat in last 13 games shows it clearly. As a captain he was expected to bat for a session atleast in last game but he failed miserably. Ashwin scored more runs than him in ongoing series being a bowler. Dhoni failed misrrably in saving game for the team.

ravi-1967
on December 12, 2012, 4:01 GMT

Amarnath had called the Indian Selectors a bunch of jokers about 20+ years back. Nothing seems to have changed even today.

A revamp is required. If people perceive it as the panic button being pressed then so be it, Indian cricket requires this.

I am great SRT fan but the way he is playing it would be apt for him to leave at the end of the series.

Sehwag and Ashwin do not deserve a place in the Indian national team.

Dhoni should be sacked as test captain.

Most of all sack Fletcher and bring in a person like Ravi Shastri who knows the pulse well. Remember Ravi as the interim coach after the 2007 WC debacle.

ASHISHOK
on December 12, 2012, 3:48 GMT

i think dhoni will be closely watch in the nagpur test which will decide fate of dhoni's captancy and future as a wicketkeeper batsman specially in tests.

on December 12, 2012, 3:47 GMT

I have a great respect for Mr. Mohinder AMarnath. He was a great allrounder during his cricketing days and an honest and outspoken humanbeing. His honesty cost him to be out of active cricket for many years. He never preferred to be controlled by others, such as BCCI or other cricketing bodies. He deserves a dignified position in Indian cricket. I personally agree with his comment. First current selection committe should have ommitted SRT from 4th test, but they do not have that courage and have thought of Dhoni. We should support people like Mohinder Amarth, not people like Sharad Pawar who does not have knowledge of cricket and others.

praneethtz
on December 12, 2012, 3:47 GMT

I agree with Amarnath..he is rite ..dhoni is backed srinivasan a lot ..its time dhoni is sacked frm test cricket..he has no technique..i agree that the team has failed as a unit bt even dhoni failed as a batsman..I wonder wat players do wen free..look at cook how he has grown as a player constantly improving wonder y cant players like dhoni.yuvi do that..its time for split captaincy ..sack even sachin he is aging i just cant understand how many records he want and how much he wants to earn

on December 12, 2012, 3:47 GMT

It's time to throw him out and bring Dinesh Kartik or any other player who also know wicket keeping.

on December 12, 2012, 3:43 GMT

well this interview should create cyclone in indian cricket if not nothing can. Bcci sees nothing in cricket lovers view because it was headed by bunch of business men who dont known nothing about cricket in game point of view but knows everything financial point of view.Why does selectors risk their job( as they r getting lakhs) to take a tough decision.god must know d reasons for gambir,dhoni,tendulkar,chawla and some extend to sehwag in the squad. BIG THANK U SIR

on December 12, 2012, 3:42 GMT

i think dhoni will be closely watch in the nagpur test ...which will decide dhoni's fate as a captain or as a wicket keeper batsman in tests

yoogi
on December 12, 2012, 3:42 GMT

I dont know why Lala came out with this revelation now. Also I dont see why selecters should "talk to sachin" to know "his plans". rather they should talk to him only if they have no plan for him in the side. Its selecters call, not sachin's. He is god to fans, may be, just a ward for selecters. Selecters are obviously above god and they should know that.

on December 12, 2012, 3:39 GMT

i think Mohinder is just trying to show his anger after getting sacked from selection committee.. both Sachin and Dhoni deserve to be there in test team...

on December 12, 2012, 3:38 GMT

i think Mohinder is just trying to show his anger after getting sacked from selection committee.. both Sachin and Dhoni deserve to be there in test team...

Narbavi
on December 12, 2012, 3:38 GMT

This is ridiculous, enough of all this now, whom will u make the test skipper then? Right now no one is guaranteed a place in the starting 11 to be named a test skipper, i would rather say remove dhoni and the seniors from the t20 side, from now lets play with an youthful t20 side with Virat as captain and let Dhoni focus only on odi's and tests!! If he still fails in tests then remove him!!

on December 12, 2012, 3:35 GMT

Thank god. At least there's one honest former selector who isn't afraid to speak his mind.

sharidas
on December 12, 2012, 3:33 GMT

Very straight remarks. Nothing ambiguous.I have always been against non-cricket personnel in the BCCI. BCCI positions have become coveted posts for a lot of big businessmen. Obviously it helps their needs. But, if you look at their contribution to Indian Cricket, it's purely nil. Showing a lot of money in the BCCI coffers is not a contribution. If we really look at the state of Indian Cricket, we can see that the available talent is so few and even the prospects lose their glimmer in a short span of time. IPL may be popular and indeed helps a lot of cricketers make a better liing, but IPL will destroy talent.

on December 12, 2012, 3:32 GMT

well again I am vindicated there are many wk batsmen better than Dhoni for ex. W Saha of Bengal Kartikey of tami9lnadu etc but the point is dhoni should only be removed as captain of test team where he failed miserably in both England and Australia. without punishment of sort his endorsement is the highest and his captainship has deteriorated further.since lot of time has passed so now he should be removed completely and all types of games.

on December 12, 2012, 3:27 GMT

Indian Politics and Indian Cricket is from the same source, NO DOUBT. That is the reason Indo-Pak series takes place when both countries are politically close.

on December 12, 2012, 3:26 GMT

This is India... thats the reward for speaking the truth. External influences are controlling Indian selection... and the zonal policy is nothing but a scam to appease each power from each zone . Hats off to Amarnaths guts, he fought fire with fire when he played against fast bowling & he is doing the same in real life

on December 12, 2012, 3:19 GMT

Very True! Both Dhoni and Sachin should go. W Saha should be Test Wicketkeeper.

No featured comments at the moment.

on December 12, 2012, 3:19 GMT

Very True! Both Dhoni and Sachin should go. W Saha should be Test Wicketkeeper.

on December 12, 2012, 3:26 GMT

This is India... thats the reward for speaking the truth. External influences are controlling Indian selection... and the zonal policy is nothing but a scam to appease each power from each zone . Hats off to Amarnaths guts, he fought fire with fire when he played against fast bowling & he is doing the same in real life

on December 12, 2012, 3:27 GMT

Indian Politics and Indian Cricket is from the same source, NO DOUBT. That is the reason Indo-Pak series takes place when both countries are politically close.

on December 12, 2012, 3:32 GMT

well again I am vindicated there are many wk batsmen better than Dhoni for ex. W Saha of Bengal Kartikey of tami9lnadu etc but the point is dhoni should only be removed as captain of test team where he failed miserably in both England and Australia. without punishment of sort his endorsement is the highest and his captainship has deteriorated further.since lot of time has passed so now he should be removed completely and all types of games.

sharidas
on December 12, 2012, 3:33 GMT

Very straight remarks. Nothing ambiguous.I have always been against non-cricket personnel in the BCCI. BCCI positions have become coveted posts for a lot of big businessmen. Obviously it helps their needs. But, if you look at their contribution to Indian Cricket, it's purely nil. Showing a lot of money in the BCCI coffers is not a contribution. If we really look at the state of Indian Cricket, we can see that the available talent is so few and even the prospects lose their glimmer in a short span of time. IPL may be popular and indeed helps a lot of cricketers make a better liing, but IPL will destroy talent.

on December 12, 2012, 3:35 GMT

Thank god. At least there's one honest former selector who isn't afraid to speak his mind.

Narbavi
on December 12, 2012, 3:38 GMT

This is ridiculous, enough of all this now, whom will u make the test skipper then? Right now no one is guaranteed a place in the starting 11 to be named a test skipper, i would rather say remove dhoni and the seniors from the t20 side, from now lets play with an youthful t20 side with Virat as captain and let Dhoni focus only on odi's and tests!! If he still fails in tests then remove him!!

on December 12, 2012, 3:38 GMT

i think Mohinder is just trying to show his anger after getting sacked from selection committee.. both Sachin and Dhoni deserve to be there in test team...

on December 12, 2012, 3:39 GMT

i think Mohinder is just trying to show his anger after getting sacked from selection committee.. both Sachin and Dhoni deserve to be there in test team...

yoogi
on December 12, 2012, 3:42 GMT

I dont know why Lala came out with this revelation now. Also I dont see why selecters should "talk to sachin" to know "his plans". rather they should talk to him only if they have no plan for him in the side. Its selecters call, not sachin's. He is god to fans, may be, just a ward for selecters. Selecters are obviously above god and they should know that.